A Pen? Are You Kidding Me?
by Moonlit Seas
Summary: Heaven's "Pen of Life" has been stolen, and an Italian angel and demon duo are hunting it down at any cost. There will be costs. Other angels, demons, deities, kitsune, hunters and humans are also coming to shake things up, and the unfolding events will change the structure of the worlds as we know them. Fantasy AU. Updates no longer monthly but still happening, I promise. May 2015
1. Chapter 1 - Introductions

**Hello and Welcome** to a first chapter of a new story by the author known as Moonlit Seas, or Faerin. Faerin cannot take credit for this all by themself because they had much help from their awesome RP buddies, Ven and Tobi.-

**The AU **is relatively modern-day, and set on Earth, with some reflection back to the other "dimensions" surrounding Earth. Specifically it is set within a city and the forest and smaller towns that surround it.

In this universe all non-humans come from somewhere, and that somewhere -being connected to Earth from a spiritual plane- affects humans by becoming things like stories and religion among human cultures. Each of the characters is meant to come from a world like this, that has affected humanity, and their species' history in turn affects who they are, though we try to keep as close as possible to their canon personalities.

Each of us has done research into their characters but no one of us can know _everything._ As much as we do research into these things, we also make up what we don't know or can't understand or what fills in the grey areas of the plot/setting. If any of this offends or is in direct conflict with something you know of a supernatural we mention, please tell us, and we will talk to you.

**(Dis)claimer:** I do not own Hetalia, nor these characters, Hidekaz Himaruya does and I thank him for that. The adaptations in character design and this specific portrayal of the characters belongs to Ven, Tobi, and Fay. Most of the dialog and action in this fic also belongs to Ven and Tobi. BUT this fic itself, and so far these notes too, belong to me, Fay, Moonlit Seas.

I also do not mean any harm if I reference specific religions and not others, and in no way am trying to force beliefs on anyone. Because of the nature of this universe, there will be talk of heaven, hell, the devil, angels, demons, and many other things, capitalized or not. .

**WARNINGS:** This fanfiction will contain Language, allusions to Violence, Sexual References, various disturbing content, attempts at humor, character personalities edited for their individual histories, and copious amounts of "ve~"

Now, without further ado, _**THE STORY:**_

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A Pen? Are You Kidding Me?

**Chapter 1- Introductions**

An angel stepped into a dim warehouse, his auburn hair illuminated gently by the remaining dusty bulbs overhead. The light wasn't ideal, but it was sufficient for him to peer into the boxes, light brown eyes intent in their search. There was light energy coming from this place, and hopefully from the item he had been looking for. It would be difficult to find, a kind of needle in a haystack, as the dark warehouse was a near labyrinth of boxes, stacked crates, and dust in the unused portions. The angel coughed quietly as the dirt blew into his face from an opened box.

The auburn-haired one was alone in neither his quest nor this place, however. Another had been combing through the boxes and scanning the darkness since before the angel arrived. As the demon turned to make another sweep of the nearly dead building, he noticed the first figure, and his hazel eyes widened in shock. How long had the darker being not been alone?

Unfortunately the brunette demon was spotted soon after he had noticed the other person.

"Hello?" The angel asked, tone concerned, as it was difficult to see through the deeper shadows.

His long coat obscured the feathered wings, making the angel appear to be a human at this range, and at an even closer one should he be fortunate. For the demon, hiding his non-standard features was simply a matter of wrapping his tail around his waist and under the hooded sweatshirt concealing his wings. This was something he did before stepping into view.

"What are you doing here?" He asked with a slight growl.

"I'm looking for something, ve~" The lighter of the two responded, seeming unperturbed by the demon's threatening tone.

"For what?" The brunette asked, spending more energy than necessary to be on guard against this person, and at the same time keep himself disguised.

"A pen." The other answered simply. This disturbed the demon further, and made the still unknown angel curious.

The darker force wondered what reasons a human could have for being in an old warehouse such as this, and why he would be looking for a **pen **of all things. That was just weird in the demon's opinion. His acquaintance could be looking for something similar to the brunette, but if he were that would make this situation so much more troublesome than it had to be.

"What about you?" The angel asked, curious and smiling, a picture of friendliness, if not for their current setting. It was this expression that made it unlikely that the auburn-haired one was simply a deluded homeless person looking for a place to sleep. "Why are you here, ve~?"

The angel's darker acquaintance nearly flinched. "I'm…looking for something too…" He said slowly, carefully. It was best to be on the safe side, and not let this human know the extent of what he had walked in on. It could get both of them in trouble, not that he really cared about a random human, or their kind in general. "Just stay out of my way." The hazel-eyed demon added.

The auburn-haired one was confused by the response, but answered in the way that seemed most natural to him.

"Do you want any help?"

The other in the room paused. The brunette couldn't understand why anyone would offer to help him, particularly in this nonsensical situation, but this person made just as little sense, which made his actions suddenly understandable. But there was not a way in Hell, Heaven, or anywhere else he would tell the full truth now. An excuse, an excuse, the demon needed an excuse.

"A-ah, look over there!" He suddenly called out, raised voice echoing slightly though the open areas. "I see something!" The demon had pointed in what was a random direction to him, but when the human began investigating, he realized there **had** been something there. "What the hell?" He commented to the open.

"Oh!" The lighter one exclaimed, moving behind a wall of boxes to find a figure both illuminated and silhouetted by flames. He stepped forward, intrigue obvious on his face and in his actions.

The more cautious of the two felt closer to disturbed than interested. "What the fuck is that?" He asked, not looking away from the human-like figure sleeping in front of them.

The person looked somewhat ragged and was sleeping soundly. His bed was blue fire, crackling near silently, and evidently not burning him at all. The oddly-colored glow bent the nearby hues, but it was still apparent that the sleeper had dark hair, and his silhouette made obvious the additional appendages a human would not have naturally. Pointed and light colored ears lay on top of his head, and multiple tails lay against his back and over his side. The end of one such tail twitched as its owner remained curled up and unconscious.

"What the fuck do you think it is?"

The demon looked up as he spoke and finally noticed his acquaintance fully. The fire was reflecting on the two of them as well, and the additional light made it much easier to gauge the human's appearance. He had auburn hair in a style similar to the brunette's own, light brown eyes and a long coat. He wasn't dressed terribly, the demon thought idly. As the darker being's eyes roved towards the floor, what looked like a feather caught his eye from under the coat.

"I don't know." The angel said quietly, not wanting to wake the figure on the concrete.

"Whatever it is," The brunette added, "It doesn't seem to be doing much." More questions bubbled up in his mind, some he couldn't stop from coming out, especially once the visible feather moved and revealed more.

"Who are you? What the **hell** are you?!" He yelled, deeming it safest to step back from the other, and possibly winged, one.

The angel in turn looked taken aback, and he followed the hooded figure back into a more open area, away from the sleeping creature. He was mildly surprised that it hadn't woken up yet, or rather the light being would be, if he weren't concerned with this person yelling at him. This person who just asked **what** he was. This person who now had **a tail** swishing through the air behind them.

"I'm Feliciano. W-What about you? What are you, ve~?" He asked, returning the question, and watching the other with fear.

"Lovino." The brunette opened his mouth to add something along the lines of, "I'm a demon, you asshole, couldn't you tell?" but he was cut off instead by a laugh from above the two.

The laugh itself was sadistic, and beyond pleased with itself. It was something to be expected from a child who had just put a worm in front of a frog and watched it be eaten, if that child were a small boy from a different place, long ago.

Both of the supernaturals on the ground jumped from the sudden noise and tracked the sound, though the demon's reaction was more violent and included a myriad of curses. This only seemed to amuse the owner of the voice as he laughed again at their expense.

"Who's there?" Feliciano asked, trying to keep his speech from shaking. His darker companion appeared to be having similar difficulties keeping his anger under control.

"What the fuck?!" Lovino yelled, tail lashing through the air behind him. "Who's there?!" The demon didn't seem to notice he had repeated Feliciano's statement.

"What are you looking for?" The voice asked them casually, as it **hadn't** just been making fun of them. Perhaps it never stopped, seeing as its owner must have been in the warehouse the entire time or the other two would have noticed. It was obvious now that this wasn't a child. The speaker was male, and had a slight accent; one that had been overwritten by time in this area.

The angel and demon's reactions to the question differed just as much as their species suggested.

"That's none of your business!"

"A pen."

Both spoke at nearly the same time and one line was yelled, as its speaker was still angry. The other answer was a statement of fact. The angel's logic suggested that although the figure in the shadows above them was scary; he could potentially still help them.

"Something like this?" The figure asked, and now his location was clear.

A shadow darker than those around him was perched on a beam and staring down at the two. There was motion in the darkness as something swished through the air behind him. From what the grounded two could see, he was relatively small, and very balanced as he sat to watch them.

The person's appearance, or lack of one, wasn't what caught the attention of the grounded pair, however. As the shadow leaned towards them, he twirled a small object between his fingers, which brought a short gasp from the angel. A short and rounded cylinder, swirled with gray and black, spun above them. The shadow was holding a fountain pen. A fountain pen that glowed gently from the incredible amounts of light energy it radiated.

The angel and demon startled as the one in current possession of the pen -the same pen they had each searched for so desperately- jumped from his perch to the ground, nimbly rolling to avoid the brunt of the impact. He stood and watched them calmly from ground level, several yards away. The brunette immediately fell into a defensive position should a fight break out. His angelic ally glanced to where the sleeping creature was and murmured a short spell to keep the other safe.

"Y-yes, like that." He said, gaze fixed on the pen. He had never seen an artifact this powerful before, and he felt drawn to it. It belonged to his people and Feliciano had to stop himself from reaching for the glowing object, and he repressed the urge to flee with it back to heaven.

The demon's response was one of more dramatic shock. His wings quivered beneath his sweatshirt, a flight response for a very different reason. While the angel was drawn to the holy aura, the opposing power was naturally repelled by it, to an extent.

"Hey!" He shouted, surprised by the volume of his voice in addition to the appearance of the long-sought writing implement. "Where did you get that?!"

"That is none of your concern." The shadow was slightly brightened by the pen he held, and the others could see he was smirking. "What is, is that an angel and a demon are working together. Are either of you rebelling?" The voice in his last sentence had taken on a melodic quality that mimicked his laugh, though the figure refused to express his amusement so directly.

The opposing two snapped to look at each other, stupefied by the thought of their kind's respective enemy in such close proximity. Through each of their minds snippets of stories flashed, tales they had heard since each had come into being as their current selves. The light being remembered nightmares he had had after being told in gruesome detail of the soulless ferocity demons unleashed on their victims. His demonic counterpart stiffened to hold back trembles when stories of how any angel would not hesitate to kill him, no matter the situation, reoccurred in his consciousness.

It took harsh moments for either to regain himself, though Lovino snapped a reply first.

"Shut the fuck up! Give that pen back, you bastard!"

"S-Si!" The brown-eyed angel added. "We need that back!"

The demon spoke again, adding a threat. "Don't make me have to hurt you."

"Hurt?" The figure questioned, tilting his head slightly. "That wouldn't be effective; I already am, though it's no matter."

The angel backed down somewhat. The words bothered him, and the shadow's offhanded tone only worsened the feeling. "What do you mean ve~?"

His question remained ignored as the enigmatic thief replied to a separate outburst.

"Besides, I need this more than the two of you could comprehend, even if I told the whole story."

"You don't know that!" The light being protested, "That's the Pen of Life! It belongs with my people, in heaven! We need it back!"

The frantic tone Feliciano used amplified the desperation in the angel's body language. He was leaning forward, eyes wide, and wings straining against the back of his coat. To Lovino, he looked like a hunchback, and the demon would have laughed in any other situation.

"Well I need it more! You bastards have had it since…" He flailed his arms, searching for the right words, or at the very least enough to complete his sentence. "…a while! Now it's our turn!" These two were talking about need and the brunette had to say **something** for comparison.

The angel blinked at his companion's antics. "This isn't about that! People can't get into heaven and that pen…" He shuddered a little from being reminded of the importance of his quest.

Lovino stopped, confused by this sudden turn. "Wait, what?" He paused to think. "It… What..? What the fuck does it do?" His angelic counterpart seemed disconcerted.

"The Pen of Life does a lot of things, angels use it to allow the dead into heaven, but… it has worse powers ve~." He explained with only the slightest hint of reluctance.

"Why do you need the fucking Pen? Can't you just open the gates for the poor bastards?" Lovino was still lashing out, but only because he had no idea what the Pen really did. He felt like a fool to be searching for something and know nothing about it. Feliciano shook his head in response.

"They have to be written in the Book, if they aren't they're stuck forever…" He frowned, wings slumping as well. "If I can't get that pen back, no one gets into heaven."

The demon rubbed his chin. There was still more to clarify. "So… is there a line to get in right now?" He laughed at the mental image that brought.

"No, they are stuck in limbo, wandering the earth, with no one who can see them or hear them…" Feliciano shook his head, feeling sorrow for the lost souls. The truth brought Lovino's mirth to an abrupt halt.

"That sucks…" He murmured, paying respect to the unfortunate dead.

It was all too easy to imagine specters wandering the streets and homes they once knew, afraid and alone. No living person to see them cry out for family or friends who couldn't hear them no matter how loud they tried to be. The dead who were supposed to move on to the afterlife, to Heaven, and who were blocked out by the absence of one item. It was a terrifying concept, even to the demon.

The auburn-haired one looked up at him. "What would you do with the Pen anyway ve~?" He looked around for the hidden figure, feeling helpless when he couldn't find them. He knew they needed to stop the Pen thief, but he was curious to hear Lovino's plans for the pen.

Lovino blinked at the sudden question. This was embarrassing… "U-Uh… Give it to my superiors…" He was somewhat surprised at the shame that was welling up within him. The brunette had just been doing what he had been told, so why did it feel like his answer was the wrong one?

Feliciano shuddered again. The thought of high ranked demons getting a hold of such a powerful item made him feel sick.

The figure in the dark chuckled again.

"That doesn't seem like it would end well…" He said, dragging out the sentence with mock sympathy.

The demon glared at the place where the voice hid once again.

"Then hand it over!"

That was an idea the angel supported full-heartedly, keeping in line with the most literal form of the phrase "The devil you know is better than the devil you don't." Feliciano wasn't even entirely sure that their thief was any kind of devil.

"I've already said I can't do that." The shadow said, and he moved to the side slowly, like a wild animal circling a potential opponent.

The demon's wings pressed against the confines of his hoodie and his tail whipped the air as a responding aggressive display. Lovino readied himself for a fight and the build in tension was **just **about to force him to lunge for the thief when there was a sharp 'CRASH' of shattered glass and the shadowy figure had disappeared with the Pen. The demon growled, looking around wildly.

"Where the fuck could he have gone?!"

Feliciano was just as distressed, but didn't show it the same way. He shook his head and glanced to the ground momentarily, then turned his gaze to Lovino. The auburn-haired one bit his lip.

"Can we call a truce? J-Just to find the pen?" He asked carefully. No one had ever attempted something like this before, no one in their right minds at least, and besides that demons were evil, right? But having an ally in the search for the Pen and its current holder would be better than Feliciano having to face them on his own.

Lovino turned to him and watched skeptically. He was confused now and doubly wary. "What happens when we find it?" He asked with a glare and crossed arms.

The brown-eyed angel shrugged as he honestly didn't know that answer. A few scenarios came to the forefront of his mind but none were kind.

"We work it out when we find it ve~" That seemed the safest route. He held out his hand with only the last finger raised. "Pinky swear, ve~?"

Lovino looked at the angel's hand then back at him entirely. He huffed. It _was_ probably best to have the angel help him find the already angelic item. "Fair enough." He held out his pinky and twisted it around Feliciano's in a promise.

The angel smiled and loosened his own finger from the hold before looking at his demonic counterpart. "Where do we start ve~?" He asked brightly.

Lovino on the other hand dropped his arm and felt like gagging... A pinky promise was such a stupid gesture... He was brought from his incredulous musings by the question and thought for a moment on that topic instead. "Uh... He's not here... so... outside..?" The brunette tried lamely.

Feli nodded a little. "Maybe the forest? If he was a kitsune, like I think he was ve~" He agreed and smiled; beginning to feel hopeful again.

The demon nodded. That made sense. He started out towards the warehouse entrance, pulled up his hoodie, and wrapped his tail around his waist before walking out, the angel following.

**End of Chapter 1**

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Wow, thank you for reading this so far, we really appreciate that you have. Typically, down here in the Author's Notes, things get rather boring, with the "please keep reading" and the "reviews would be great" and blah blah blah. But -even though I will be doing that- this section will be mainly used for clarification within the chapter. I will post here summaries of characters and settings, event summaries, and answers to your questions **As You Ask For Them**.

So yes, I, and hopefully my cohorts, will gladly accept your questions, concerns, ideas, and "you should have done this like this," as long as you are civil about it. We don't take kindly to bullying, it's against the law where Fay comes from. But anyways, we would absolutely LOVE to hear from people, so send us a message with what you want to hear or what you hope to see, and we will answer those down here, or in a PM should you request it. Unfortunately though, spoiler information will not be given until the appropriate time, or until it is clarified withing the story.

**Definitions** (will usually be in the top section)

"Supernaturals"-noun- A non-human creature, typically described by myth and belonging to some dimension or another. One can be born as a supernatural or become one while alive, such as a vampire, or after death, like an angel or demon.

"Earth" -noun- The mortal plane, as opposed to the spectral plane, which contains the multitude of dimensions. Earth connects to each of these dimensions and houses humans.

"Dimension" -noun- The realms that surround Earth, each coexisting among mortals but separate in the spectral/spiritual plane. Religions and myths are representations among humans of the different dimensions. (Feliciano and Lovino are from the dimension associated with Christianity and other beliefs similar to it, for example) The dimensions know of each other but interaction is extremely limited as the bridges between them are locked, lost, or hidden.

** Notes: **Chapter 2 is completely finished and ready to be uploaded, however I will be waiting a couple weeks to post it, because Chapter 3 is still in it's preliminary stages and I don't want to make the wait too long. This will however be at least 12 chapters of varying length, for that I apologize.

On that note, the wait between chapters will be bothersome due to real life, the RPing needed to continue this, and the way we transfer this from RP text to literary form. I hate not posting just as much as you don't like not hearing from fics for a while but here's a promise. I WILL see this story through to the end even if I have to write it up all by myself. I doubt it will come to that.

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Thanks for reading, please send us some feedback, and we'll see you in Chapter 2! *blows kiss*

(0/w\0)

\\(0w0)/


	2. Chapter 2 - Kitsune

**Hello and Welcome Back** to this story in it's second chapter.

**(Dis)claimer:** I do not own Hetalia, Hidekaz Himaruya does and I thank him for it. Everything else for this specific chapter belongs to Fay.

We do not mean any disrespect by referencing religions, etcetera. If we are wrong, tell us.

**Story Thus Far: **Feliciano is an angel. Lovino is a demon. Someone stole the Pen of Life and was a real ass about it. The thief is believed to be a kitsune. The three met in a warehouse, where a fourth had been sleeping. The thief from the shadows confronted them, and then took Feli and Lovi by surprise when he ran off instead of fighting the Lovino.

**Definitions:**

"Kitsune"-noun- A being from various dimensions mainly known towards Asia. Each kind has a basic skill set that changes between the dimensions that have them. The kitsune featured here are the light beings associated with Japanese myth. They are fox-spirits -simply called "foxes"- who can be classed as either celestial or rougue/wild

**WARNINGS: **This chapter (is SHORT) will contain allusions to Violence, mild Language, and Fay's writing.

Now, without further ado, _**THE STORY:**_

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A Pen? Are You Kidding Me?

**Chapter 2 – Kitsune**

The figure from the warehouse leaped out a window and darted between other structures of similar build. He had the Pen, and now knew there were others after it. This was what had been predicted and what the raven-haired one had been tasked with finding. He kept running, flitting between darknesses as he had his entire life. Red eyes glinted in the dark as the shadow sought the designated meeting place.

The city's edge soon gave way to the next town's suburbs. As much as he doubted those other two would follow him in this direction, the quicker he slipped through the barrier the better. The magic his master used would block the light energy of the Pen from reaching any who would claim it. That fact in turn would protect the kitsune bearing it.

'Heh.' The fox spirit thought to himself, 'As if I ever mattered. I could have been taken by an archangel and I doubt my "master" would care so much as he got what he wanted. Like a child.' He huffed and kept on his feet, ignoring the pain from the shattered window's glass.

The gathered clouds opened again, soaking the dark-clad kitsune. He grumbled with more fervor as his tails and scarf became waterlogged. Worse was how the thought and feel of the rain turned his thoughts back to his family and how they hated the wet, the cold and the damp. It brought him a bitter happiness that always somehow managed to taste like medicinal herbs.

The raven took shelter under an overhanging roof and on the raised porch below. Thunder echoed among the swirls of gray, illuminated by bright flashes of sound. A slight smile played across the fox's lips as he watched the night's silver rain. He eyed the splashes and puddles caused by the downpour. This would be the closest to peace he could have in these times.

The home's front door opened and the kitsune was dragged back into the dark. On instinct he snarled, and was not rewarded for his trouble. The red imprint of the smack flared across the raven's skin and he let it burn him momentarily. Within the dark was normally safety, so long as one could best what lurked with cruel intent within. This opponent had bested **nothing**.

'Spoiled child.' He spat within his own mind. The spirit despised those who never learned –and worse never needed to learn- the harsh realities of the world. An unfortunate affect those realities had, that few never heard, required subordination and false respect. It hurt the kitsune to remember that he didn't always think so coldly, like the rain...

All inner monologues were cut off by a rumbling voice. "Do you have it?"

The shadow scoffed at its darker superior. "Where would I be if I didn't?" The answer was apparent, though the tone still managed to wash fear over him.

"In whatever Hell will accept you, mutt."

The kitsune shivered. He didn't want to hear more. Not now.

The sharp voice spoke again, changing the subject with a smoother tone, and for the moment sparing the fox more torment. "Do you have what else I asked for?"

Damn it.

"No." The shadow answered. "There were two though. An angel and a demon, both after the Pen. Neither of them said who they were."

"Then you should have found out!" His master yelled. The sound reverberated through the room and subsequent halls like the thunder through the outside clouds.

"I couldn't-!" He protested, being cut off again. The pain this time was duller, but more intense, and would leave dark flowers the next day.

"You could have. You know your job. You understand what happens when ends are not met. Do you hear me?"

The thief looked into the eye of the storm, his own a captive blaze.

"I do."

**~~~~~Line Break~~~~~**

In the empty warehouse, another figure stretched and stood from his bed of blue fire. The dark outside didn't scare him as it once had when he first arrived in this place. Now it was a means of keeping himself hidden. Most people who were about during the hours he was now awake would think of his odd appearance as a vision induced by inebriation or intoxication.

He called the flames back to him, and let them light the area as sleep fell away. The kitsune walked out the opened front door and into the night. Clouds were gathering nearby, he noticed absently. A quick head shake refocused him on the task at hand. Go back into the city, and resume searching.

The dark-haired kitsune slowly walked through side streets and alleyways, stopping every so often for a more detailed look at the corners under fire escapes, and in the dusty edges of sidewalk curbs. Not one of them revealed what he had been looking for.

The spirit lashed his tails in frustration but did not let the feelings break him. Too much of that had happened recently, and the kitsune wished for more control over himself. After a moment's musing he dismissed the notion. Emotions were not something to cast away lightly, no matter what they did to you. As long as the results weren't devastating, they would be fine. So would he.

The two flames he kept at his side provided enough brightness to see in the places where city lights made shadows. His light against human darkness. It was an odd concept and not one he often liked to consider. As harsh as his time on Earth had been, and how much worse it had been in this past month, he tried to not think of this world as the terrifying thing many liked to delude themselves with.

The night's search was cut short when thunder crashed overhead. The kitsune looked up and thought of home for a moment. He thought of the gods, goddesses, and others of his kind who knew him. The spirit wondered if they worried. There were of course reasons to not be, but he dismissed them as one brushes away a concern that always returns, solemnly.

Shelter was his next immediate thought as the sky began soaking him. The kitsune himself was waterproof, but the fire he used for light, and even company was not. They hissed and steamed as the rain drove into them mercilessly. As the spirit was not a cruel master to the flames he wielded, he hid them from their natural predator.

The sudden absence of that comforting blue light at once made the rain seem that much darker; that much colder. The kitsune looked around quickly for any place out of the wet, a back porch, abandoned apartment or even a fire escape would be of some help. He shivered in the cold as his clothes began to stick to his swiftly dampening form.

The next alleyway was walled in part by a building he had seen many humans entering and leaving, but the danger currently was not priority. Instead an overhang from a low room's balcony -a flaw in design he noted- would be a good sleeping place. The kitsune crawled under it quickly and ignored the collected dirt. Not getting hypothermia was a better option at the moment than staying as close to immaculate as a bedraggled kitsune could be. The fox spirit curled up under the fire he had amassed as a blanket and fell to sleep again.

What he had failed to notice was the light presence already inside, and the lamps in several rooms flickering out.

**End of Chapter 2**

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Thank you for reading and keeping up thus far, it is very much appreciated. Chapter 2 was written by Fay, all on their own! They love all of their characters except one, which should be obvious.

**Notes: **This chapter is very short compared to the last and was finished before it predecessor because of dilemmas with the first Chapter -missing messages- as well as it's introductory status and easy pacing. Plus Fay was writing for their own characters, which made it easy.

_Anyone who can pick up on some of the things I hide between the lines throughout the story gets cookies from Fay._ It's a game.

**The Usual: **Fay, and hopefully their cohorts, will gladly accept your questions, concerns, ideas, and "You should have done this like this," as long as you are civil about it. We don't take kindly to bullying, it's against the law where Fay comes from. But the point is that we would absolutely LOVE to hear from people who read this, so send us a message with what you want to hear or what you hope to see, and we will answer those in this section, or in a PM should you request it. If you want to know about the characters or the places, we'll answer those too if we can. Unfortunately though, spoiler information will not be given until the appropriate time, or until it is clarified within the fic. If your question has spoilers as an answer, someone can send you a Private Message saying this, as long as you give us a place to contact you online.

**Next chapter estimate:** The current status of my stories can be found in my Bio.

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Again, thanks for reading, please send us some feedback, and we'll see you in Chapter 3! *blows kiss*

(0/w\0)

\\(0w0)/


	3. Chapter 3 - Triad

**Hello and Welcome** back.

**(Dis)claimer:** I do not own Hetalia, Hidekaz Himaruya does and I thank him for it. Everything else in this chapter belongs to Fay, Ven, and Tobi.

We do not mean any disrespect by referencing things of spiritual value. If we did our research wrong, tell us.

**Story Thus Far: **will be explained in chapter.

**WARNINGS: **This chapter will contain allusions to life in hell, mild Language, attempted humor, and Fay's writing.

Now, without further ado, _**THE STORY:**_

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A Pen? Are You Kidding Me?

Chapter 3- Triad

The angel Feliciano sighed and scratched his head nervously.

"Maybe, I don't really know, ve~" His wings fluttered as he tried to look the demon in the eye. Despite their newfound alliance, being in an isolated place and in the company of a demon was making him restless.

His demonic companion shrugged. "I don't have any other ideas besides wander the city…"

They had walked a little ways outside and were now thinking about the missing thief and his whereabouts. The angel had suggested the forest, working on a hunch that their Pen thief was a kitsune, a fox spirit. Foxes were forest creatures, so the woods were a likely place for him to have gone.

Feliciano nodded and replied, "Then we should go, ve~"

Lovino hummed his agreement and walked around the building they had just left. The forest was not far away. He moved towards it with the angel in tow, but stopped just short of the tree line, causing confusion in his companion, who swiftly bumped into him.

"Is something wrong, ve~?" He questioned. The demon looked back at Feliciano out of the corner of his eye.

"You're not as batshit insane as the others say." He stated bluntly.

The angel blinked and then laughed lightly at Lovino's words.

"You're not as mean and scary as the other angels say, ve~"

The demon scoffed at Feliciano's remark, but not at the smile that went along with it. He brushed the words off easily.

"I can be scary as shit. I was just being easy on you in the warehouse…"

The other blinked again but nodded respectfully instead of laughing. The conversation was deemed over and Feliciano started looking through the underbrush for a way into the trees.

As he turned, he missed Lovino's triumphant grin. The angel actually hadn't called his bluff! This was a very good day for the demon, or so he thought, especially if angels were this gullible. It wasn't likely but he was allowed to think it, damn it!

Feliciano glanced about and was confused. He couldn't feel any light from the Pen and had no idea where it could have been taken. It had been so hard tracking it as far as the warehouse, and now they had to start over… The auburn-haired angel sighed and his wings fluttered anxiously.

Feliciano thought about his mission and how crucial it was to keep the Pen from falling into dark hands. It was supposed to keep him determined but he had failed when he saw the holy object had already been found and had only made things worse by offering to work with a demon. The angel shuddered to think about what was happening to the artifact, and what could happen to him.

While his companion mused, Lovino had been peering into a bush. He looked up as Feliciano became quiet, and for once the light being wasn't looking at him. His upset expression made the demon soften. If he was so affected by this- Lovino shook his head. He wasn't about to sympathize with an angel of all beings! With a slight growl he returned to walking through the trees and trying to find some remnant of that fucking pen.

After several more tense minutes of dirt and stray branches the demon turned back to find his ally.

"Did you find something?"

The angel shook his head and sighed heavily. He had hoped...

"No, I want to though. There has to be something, a trace, or anything, ve~!" His tone amplified the distress of the situation. They had been so close earlier. Surely all of this wasn't for nothing?

The brunette walking with him kicked a rock in his own exasperation, wincing at the shock sent through his foot.

"It's fucking useless." he spat. "There's no damn leads or anything out here." He shoved his hands into his pockets, making Feliciano blink.

"Come on, we'll go somewhere and rest a while, ve~" He offered. The angel couldn't see the current search leading to anything positive, only more frustration and resignation they couldn't afford.

The demon furrowed his brows and frowned skeptically. "Where?"

"Just a hotel down a ways, it's comfortable there, ve~"

"Huh… Don't think I've ever stayed at a human place before..." Lovino was a bit curious, and hoped it would be better than Hell.

"Come on, I'll show you, ve~" Feliciano smiled and took the brunette's hand. He began to lead the demon back through the woods and out to the living part of the city.

Lovino stumbled as he was yanked and suddenly stopped moving once he realized what had happened. The demon yanked his hand back from Feliciano's grasp and held it to his chest, gaping at the person who just had it.

"WOAH." He exclaimed. "Don't do that."

The brown-eyed one returned the look in a more puzzled fashion.

"What's wrong, ve~?" He asked.

Lovino made a number of faces -earning a laugh from Feliciano for them- as he tried to think of the right words. Finally he just spat, "Don't touch me. Sure, we're working together, but just...don't touch me."

The lighter one stepped back an inch and nodded, watching Lovino with a sad frown.

"Okay, ve~" He answered, drawing out the verbal tic softly.

With that settled, Feliciano kept walking, now glancing behind himself to make sure the other hadn't taken off. This quickly made the demon tense, and frustrated again. He waited until the caution became unbearable.

"Damn. Is there something on my face? What the fuck is it?!"

The recipient of the outburst jumped and spun around to step backwards. Panicked, he rushed through his reply and tripped over the words, "It's not you, it's just sometimes people leave when I'm not looking or don't notice, ve~!"

Lovino leaned back in surprise from this second, sudden verbal spasm. That… was not expected.

"Oh… uh... I just don't like people touching me… I won't run away…" He lamely explained in an attempt to calm the angel. It seemed to work as he stopped walking, blinked, and nodded, wings falling from their raised position.

"Alright, sorry if I made you feel bad, ve~" He said, finally beginning to smile again. Feliciano turned back around and led the darker creature to a nearby hotel. Lovino had no response, so he kept quiet for the moment and followed, looking around.

The angel adjusted his wings and tucked them back into his coat before walking into the bright lobby. He bypassed the desk and headed up the stairs, making sure not to look back for his companion, though he began to get a feeling that he should.

Lovino looked around the interior of the hotel, gawking at the expense. The chairs in the lobby looked comfy, the front desk was polished, and there was a chandelier hanging over the curve of the first set of stairs. Nothing was on fire, which was a good start in the demon's eyes. People began to stare at him for looking and he grinned, flashing red eyes at them. That made the people either look away or scream. He only laughed at them.

Feliciano turned finally when he heard the screams and pouted at Lovino in a way that clearly said, "Stop that, we're in public. I am so mad right now." Then he put his back to the brunette and walked up towards the room he had gotten prior to searching for the Pen.

The demon gulped and dropped his grin quickly. He hunched his shoulders and followed Feliciano to a darker, side staircase and through the door being held for him.

Once the door had been closed and locked again, the angel turned to his hellish companion. "That wasn't very nice, ve~" He admonished.

"The damn humans were staring at me!"

"It's what they do. They're a bit odd but we can't just cause mass chaos, ve~" Obviously Lovino was new, because he groaned like a displeased teenager.

"I just scared them a little!"

"They screamed, ve~" Feliciano countered before sighing, pacing to the bed, and pointing at the covers. "It's okay, just get some sleep."

The demon ignored him and crossed his arms. "I didn't scare them that bad."

"Still, you can't do that here." The other replied lightly, in a mothering tone. He only relaxed, however, once Lovino had growled and relented.

"Fine… It won't happen again." He glared at the ground. He wasn't doing it for the angel, he had no place else to go so it would be stupid to get kicked out now.

"Grazie~" Feliciano said with a smile, pleased that there would be no more trouble while they were here. "Are you hungry?"

Lovino had just opened his mouth to answer with a negative when his stomach growled. He groaned and reluctantly accepted the offer of food.

"A little…"

The angel smiled at him and got up to go make something.

"Lay down a while, relax, ve~" He said, though he was immediately ignored and instead followed to the kitchen. Lovino couldn't help his curiosity, which Feliciano seemed to be pleased by as he filled up a pot with water.

The demon looked over his shoulder at the water. "What's that for?"

"Softening the noodles, ve~" The brown-eyed angel explained holding up a package of them. "Do you want to pour them in?" When the demon tried shaking them into the boiling water several ended up flying halfway across the kitchenette and he cursed as others broke before splashing into the water.

Feliciano blinked and returned to preparing a sauce. "You're doing good, ve~" He commented.

The angel's praise went uncared for as the food was prepared and the stray noodles gathered. Feliciano hummed as he stirred the sauce and finished with it. The smell permeated the room and captured more of the attention of the less experienced being. Lovino had been watching the noodles make loops in the bubbling water. He looked up at Feliciano, then back at the noodles again.

"What is this anyway?"

The supernatural laughed as brightly as his disposition. "Pasta." He replied, bouncing a little on his toes. "It's really good, I found out about it in Italy."

"Huh." Lovino looked between the twin pots on the stove and said no more.

The angel pulled both containers off of the heat a short while later and looked over them, straining the water from the noodles and adding the sauce. His demonic companion stepped back to survey this as well. He had to move to the side once Feliciano reached for silverware and plates. The table was quickly set and two plates made up in a simple and appetizing way. Feliciano sat down and watched Lovino expectantly.

The brunette followed suit, giving the other's expression wary consideration before shifting that to the food steaming invitingly before him. The demon's wings curled forward somewhat as he poked at the food then flared out in frustration as he continuously tried to stab the noodles, only to have them slip away each time. He growled at the audacious food.

Feliciano's tittering laugh brought Lovino, mid-growl, from glaring at his plate as if he were about to attempt murder. He crossed the table and took the other's hand, bringing the fork down to twirl several noodles. The brunette stared, and answered his help with a short "Oh." He pushed the angel back to try it himself.

Feliciano blinked as he was pushed, but only pouted a little before going back to his own food to eat. His silence was filled by his companion muttering, "I would have figured it out eventually…" which may or may not have been a disguised "thank you."

The two ate and cleaned up in the relative silence they had become accustomed to during the past hours. They had finally settled for the evening when the darker of the two supernaturals spoke up again.

"Where could the little bastard have gone..." Lovino grumbled, resting his head in his hands with a displeased huff.

"We'll find him, ve~" The angel assured, stretching his wings and yawning. He picked himself up and crossed the room to lay down on the bed. "We should get some rest, ve~"

The change in topic made the demon look at Feliciano strangely, but he did find a comfortable looking spot to sleep as well. The auburn-haired angel watched him as he relaxed into a chair.

"You can take the bed if you want, it might be nicer, ve~" He said sitting up more.

"This is pretty damn comfortable too."

~~~~Line Break~~~~

The angel stirred only once daylight had come through the windows enough to make him open his eyes. Said amber eyes blinked tiredly and were rubbed by closed fists. Feliciano's wings slumped behind him as he stumbled out of bed. He turned to tug the covers back up and saw the other figure occupying a spot nearby. The chair must not have been as comfortable as Lovino claimed, seeing as he was now pulling the blankets up in a cocoon against the annoyingly bright sun.

Feliciano smiled and went back to the kitchen to make breakfast for the two of them. Today would likely be another long day and getting out early would make it go by quicker. The smell of food was exactly what he needed to get Lovino out of bed too, as he joined the angel by the stove once he started making eggs and toast.

Lovino ate quickly and with animal intent, grinning at his new ability to stab the eggs. His companion again was slower, but just as anxious to get out and back into the city to search. They silently and quickly readied themselves, jackets and hoodies concealing two pairs of wings and one tail.

The morning's optimism was only amplified as Feliciano felt a near presence while they crossed through the lobby. If Lovino's paranoid attitude was anything to go by, he did too.

"Do you feel that?" The demon asked finally as they stood outside the front doors.

"Si~ It doesn't feel… bad… but I don't know what it is, ve~" Immediately the angel opened his senses wide and followed the feeling. Lovino followed **him**, scowling all the while.

"It's not the pen…"

Feliciano nodded.

"I know but still." He said, stopping to peer down an alley, still in deep shadow made by the sunrise. There was a soft whine coming from this direction. "Ciao~?"

Something in the side street turned quickly towards the greeting and fled into those shadows. It shrunk back against the wall of the alley and shut up quickly; hoping silence would make them go away.

"We know you're fucking there so just come out, damn it." Lovino yelled into the alleyway.

Feliciano looked at his demonic ally with upset, before turning back to the darkened alley.

"Come out, we won't hurt you, ve~" He called gently.

The creature huddling against the wall shook, but at this point stood and brushed what dirt he could from off his tunic. The clothes he wore were tattered, and looked as if they were once blue and white. Feliciano walked towards him.

"Are you alright?" He asked, worrying now.

Lovino blinked as the person came into full view. He was odd looking with clothes in a style no one had seen in a long time. The whimper the creature made in his throat was barely human, as if the white lumps on his head, and fluffy bits of fur hiding behind his back weren't enough of an indication that this was another supernatural.

"What the hell…" He muttered. The demon watched this new person back away.

"Who are you, ve~?" Feliciano asked with a slight frown. He was sad that this creature was so scared.

"N-No one." The dark-haired being said, looking around quickly.

"Are you okay?" He pressed, seeing as Lovino was stepping back.

"I'm fine." The kitsune answered tersely. It would be obvious to most that he did **not** want to be bothered, but the angel continued regardless.

"We're looking for a special pen… Do you know about it? Or maybe an odd looking fox?"

"A...special pen? I haven't seen anything of that sort, or any foxes outside of the woods." He paused. "Those are all 'normal' in any case."

Feliciano sighed, slumping a little.

"What was that guy's name, Lovino? Did he even say?"

The demon had been trying to keep his tail around his waist but looked over at Feliciano when he spoke. The question was given due consideration, even as the kitsune jumped, noticing him again.

"Uh… Damn. I don't remember if the bastard said… He was like a fucking shadow or something…"

The lighter of the duo looked pleadingly at Kiku. "I-If you see anyone with black hair and red eyes that's a kitsune let us know?"

Lovino nodded. "He's a fucking thief."

The ragged creature remembered there was another in the back who was intimidating simply by being there. The kitsune turned his attention to them when they spoke.

'A shadow?' He asked himself, 'a fox and a shadow...' Those thoughts were cut off again when the first returned to speaking. He was shocked but he managed to find his voice.

"A thief?" The description was put to the back of his mind for now.

Both nodded, but the angel spoke, "He stole something very important to me and my people, ve~"

"Oh." A thought occurred to him. "Perhaps he took what is mine as well."

Feliciano blinked. "What did he take from you, ve~?" Lovino also seemed interested, as distracted as he had been before.

The fox glanced at himself and winced at his haggard appearance. "A skull." He said quietly.

"I'll be sure to look out for it, ve~" He replied soothingly, not even blinking at the mention of bones.

"I'm sorry." The fox amended suddenly. "I didn't mean to be grim. I'm looking for a bird's skull, cleaned. It should have a faint amount of light magic with it." He held up his hand. "Palm sized."

Feliciano nodded quickly. "I'll bring it back if I find it... unless you wanted to come with us, ve~"

Lovino was now at full attention, and gaped at the angel's suggestion. This wasn't some little quest shit where you could add people to your fucking party!

The kitsune's expression mirrored the demon's. To join them...made sense in a way. He took a silent moment to consider the request. He doubted he would stay here much longer, he would be noticed and it was getting doubtful the skull was even here. If these two did find it then they would have to begin looking for him next, and the fox wanted to avoid that trouble. Also if he was with other people then there would be protection, and he wouldn't be alone, should they accept him.

The angel had forgotten to get Lovino's opinion. He turned and looked for it hoping to get a clue as to how he felt about having Kiku around. The demon waved his hand around then finally just huffed.

"Fine."

The kitsune turned his attention to them again.

"Yes."

"Alright then~!"

Lovino sighed at the bright-eyed angel's enthusiasm.

"So what's your name?" He looked the kitsune up and down.

The fox paused for only a moment, and held himself up as straight as he could.

"Honda, Kiku."

**End of Chapter** **3**

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Thank you for reading and keeping up thus far, it is incredibly appreciated.

**Notes: **We are officially back to longer chapters for a while now. This one was bothersome to write and had to be done in the middle of some stress, hence the lateness. I promise there will be plot in upcoming chapters, but for now we get an official introduction of another character to mess with in the story.

There was attempted humor here, so send us a message if it made you laugh.

**The Usual: **Fay, and their cohorts, will gladly accept your questions, concerns, ideas, and "You should have done this like this," as long as you are civil about it. We don't take kindly to bullying, it's against the law where Fay comes from. But the point is that we would absolutely LOVE to hear from people who read this, so send us a message with what you want to hear or what you hope to see, and we will answer those in this section, or in a PM should you request it. If you want to know about the characters or the places, we'll answer those too if we can. Unfortunately though, spoiler information will not be given until the appropriate time, or until it is clarified within the fic. If your question has spoilers as an answer, someone can send you a Private Message saying this, as long as you give us a place to contact you online.

**Next chapter estimate:** Chapter 4 has been delayed for possibly a month or two, (it being September now) due to an overload of schoolwork, and only about a half hour every other day to work on the story. However, a lot more of the storyline has been fleshed out and been plotted out many many chapters in advance, and you should enjoy that Chapter 4 is going to be a long one following our trio.

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Again, thanks for reading, please send us some feedback, and we'll see you in Chapter 4! *blows kiss*

(0/w\0)

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	4. Chapter 4 - Search

**Hello and Welcome** back. This chapter is LONG, so it should make up for the lateness of it?

**(Dis)claimer:** I do not own Hetalia, Hidekaz Himaruya does and I thank him for it. Everything else in this chapter belongs to Fay, Ven, and Tobi.

We do not mean any disrespect by referencing things of spiritual value. If we did our research wrong, tell us.

**WARNINGS: **This chapter will contain Lovi's language, Fay's writing, some things being clarified, and other things being made terribly unclear for the sake of plot

Now, without further ado, _**THE STORY:**_

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A Pen? Are You Kidding Me?

Chapter 4 - Search

Kiku shifted uncomfortably as he remained the center of attention out of the three. The light one was smiling at him, but the other looked as if he couldn't wait to be rid of the kitsune. The alley was quickly becoming uncomfortable, but luckily enough the conversation shifted away from him.

"We should start looking again~" The first began. His companion nodded.

"Uh… But where exactly?" He asked skeptically.

Feliciano shrugged "I'm not really sure, maybe the warehouse again?"

Kiku was confused. "Warehouse?" He asked.

It was where we saw the first kitsune, ve~"

Lovino answered simultaneously. "That's where we saw the little bastard take the pen…"

"Oh…" It made sense in a way, though the fox couldn't put it into words.

Feliciano asked again what the rest of the group thought of the destination. Kiku agreed but Lovino was skeptical.

"I don't think he would go back to the same place… the bastard..." He huffed and changed the subject, to Kiku's surprise. The demon seemed upset simply by having the fox nearby. He had been just about to offer advice too.

"Where did you last see your skull?" Feliciano smiled brighter as his companion appeared to care about Kiku more.

"I saw it in my pocket nearly thirty days ago." He said with a shiver, still damp from the rain last night. "Since then… I've traced my steps looking for it, and then everywhere else I could think of."

Feliciano frowned slightly, seeing him shake, and he moved closer.

"Hey, it's cold, you should change into something." He said before using some of his magic to make the other some clothes. The new outfit was a replica of what Kiku currently wore, but cleaner and new. The interlude was not something Lovino appreciated as they lost focus on either of their current issues. But, he had to admit, angel magic was sort of cool…

The fox, on the other hand, was more cautious in the way he stepped back. "What are you?" He asked hesitantly. The clothes would be appreciated, once he knew it was safe.

"I'm an angel~" He answered holding out the finished clothes. "Sorry, I tried my best but they might be a little big."

Kiku relaxed. Angels were light beings, he would be safe. The garments were accepted graciously. But he was _not_ going to change right there, he wasn't that kind of kitsune! The angel seemed to understand.

"Do you want some sort of barrier?" He asked.

"What do you mean by that?"

"So we don't see you change or anything?"

Kiku looked startled for a moment and he blushed. "Oh. Yes, please." The angel smiled and put up a small barrier around Kiku.

Lovino was broken from his forlorn thoughts that his demonic status would scare away what allies they could get to pay attention to them. He put his hoodie down so he could get a better look at the barrier. It was pretty solid, like a cement wall. Feliciano must have had serious practice up in heaven or wherever angels trained.

Inside, the kitsune changed quickly, ears laid back in embarrassment. When he had finished he tapped on the wall lightly, now holding the soggy, stained clothes. It faded easily.

"Do they fit well?" The angel asked.

He gave the angel a small smile of appreciation. "They're fine. Thank you."

Lovino blinked. Kiku looked a lot different with clean clothes on. More professional, or less pathetic, or something. He looked between the two light beings but kept himself distant.

Kiku looked back at Lovino and swished his tails. As he pondered the current situation his head tilted to the side and one ear fell back. Was something the matter, and should he ask? The angel beat him to it.

"Are you okay, ve~?"

Lovino nodded and looked between them shakily. "Uh… fine… Are you okay?" He asked, turning the question back on them.

"Si~"

The demon nodded and shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets. "We should go check the warehouse now…" He wrapped his tail around his waist before he left the alley to wait for them. Kiku padded after him quietly, and Feliciano followed as well.

The walk back to the warehouse was quiet, but Kiku didn't seem to mind. As they stepped inside he took a deep breath. The place was familiar, simply different from the last time he had seen it. Two blue flames came into being to light his surroundings.

The others turned around when there was suddenly a new light nearby and found it to be Kiku.

"You're the one who was sleeping here."

"Hm?" He looked at Lovino. "Yes, I've slept here on a few occasions." It was slightly unnerving that he had been watched while unconscious, while vulnerable, but for now he brushed it off. Nothing bad had happened to him.

The angel blinked in surprise but decided to be pleased by this turn of events. Kiku was the one he had placed the protective charm on. He smiled and didn't mention it.

"You're a damn heavy sleeper." Lovino commented, and looked over the place where that first kitsune had been.

Kiku didn't know whether he should take that as an insult or a single statement. He hadn't meant to sleep so soundly, but exhaustion and misery had forced his hand.

Lovino looked between the crates and then went to the wall. He stepped on some broken glass but thought nothing of it. Feliciano also searched for anything that might help but found little. Lovino stopped and looked down at the glass nudging a shard which revealed a small scrap of fabric. He blinked and kneeled to pick it up.

"Uh hey! I think I found something!" He yelled to the others. Kiku came over, bringing additional light with him.

The angel followed Lovino's voice and searched his area as well. He was surprised when he could still sense a faint trace of energy. The angel looked closer and saw some fur and picked it up to hold to the light. Kiku seemed interested in it, but focused on their first clue.

"May I hold that?" He asked.

Lovino shrugged. "Sure."

The kitsune felt the gray cloth. It was familiar, but if it belonged to a kitsune then of course it was. He rubbed a thumb over it and held it to his face. It smelled of pain, and fear, and love. But also of storms and lightning and blood and desperation. It was sad, and the conflict of scents confused Kiku. He pocketed the piece of fabric.

"I don't know this. There is little of the owner's scent left." He told them.

The angel watched and held out the fur he found. "I found this, ve~"

Kiku looked at it. "It's a light color… But not my white. He's not a kitsune I know then. He doesn't work for the same one I do."

The Lovino huffed "Oh…" Then he looked at him weird. "You work for someone?"

The kitsune nodded. "Sort of… I'm a servant of the goddess Inari, daughter of the sun, Amaterasu." His tails swayed happily then dropped. "I...haven't heard from her or anyone else in quite a while though…"

"Oh… That sucks…" Lovino also hadn't heard from his superiors in a while, now that he thought about it… Ever since the Devil sent out that order to find the Pen there hadn't been any contact with Hell.

"I'm sorry…" The angel said. He was sad for Kiku. Feliciano looked around for anything else that was useful in telling them what had happened to the Pen.

Lovino nudged some glass out of the way and looked up. He remembered their thief had to jump down. "I'm going up to look at the banisters." He took off his hoodie, tail swishing, and spread his bat-like wings before leaping into the air. The angel was torn between following and staying. He glanced at Kiku, who still seemed out of place, and remained on the ground.

The kitsune turned his ears towards the demon, and asked why he was going to the roof.

"That was where the other kitsune was, ve~" Feliciano explained.

Lovino flew between the different rafters before he found one he could walk on. He looked down and around the area. It was dusty as hell. He sniffled and rubbed his nose.

"He climbed?" Kiku asked. This was curious… "What kind of powers did he have?"

The angel shrugged a little. "I don't know, but they must have been a lot to steal the Pen from heaven under our noses, ve~" He said sighing a little. "I need to get that pen back, but I'll help you find your skull first if I can, ve~"

"Thank you."

Meanwhile, the demon walked carefully along the rail, and spotted a place with no dust. He blinked and crouched by the spot, looking down. It had a good view of the door and where they had been the night before. It was close to the broken window too. Lovino looked around for any clues but there was just faint light energy. He decided there wasn't anything left to look at so he jumped down and glided down to where he left his hoodie.

"There's nothing left up there." He proclaimed, picking up the jacket.

What's next?" Feliciano questioned. Lovino's reply was a shrug.

"Did you guys find anything else down here?"

"I'm not sure there's much anything else to find, ve~"

Kiku nodded. "If you're looking for where the kitsune went, I have no clues. All you have is that they are rogue." Of course he had his suspicions, but, it was hard not to. Those thoughts were cast away harshly as they made his heart hurt.

The light being's worried look wasn't helping the matter either.

"It'll be okay, we'll find your skull and the pen and everything will be fine, ve~" He assured.

"Damn... It wasn't a total dead end but we're nowhere close. Fuck." He looked at Feliciano with an eyebrow raised. If only he could be that optimistic.

"Where could he have hidden, or run to?" Kiku asked them.

Feliciano responded first. "We tried the forest yesterday, ve~" Kiku considered this.

"That makes some sense. We are foxes, we like what is meant to be our natural habitat." He paused. "What confuses me is what intentions this thief has." The other two had no answer and eventually Lovino simply started walking out towards the woods.

As they neared the trees, the demon turned to their recent addition.

"So... you're the closest thing we got to the bastard. What would you do?" He asked rather bluntly.

"Me?" Kiku asked, shocked by this. He quickly grew upset by the insinuations. "Kitsune are just like humans, or angels, or whatever species you are. We have our own personalities and you can't judge the rest based on one. Otherwise most of us would be-" He realized he was raising his voice and stopped himself from going off into a tirade.

"I'm sorry. That was uncalled for." A soft sigh escaped Kiku. "Based on general knowledge of my kind, the forest is a place to run to. Other times it is the snow but based on the fur color the prior is more likely. My best guess is to search here for a den of some sort, or a short term sleeping place."

Lovino blinked. "U-uh..." He felt shame and had no idea why. This past day had been completely destroying his typical emotion set. He cleared his throat to regain composure. "Okay... Let's start looking.." He walked into the forest stiffly and uneasily.

The angel watched the exchange with surprise towards the both of them. He had wanted to lecture Lovino, but Kiku seemed to do that for him, so for the moment he let it go. They had already gotten a small balance between them and the angel didn't want to disrupt that.

Once the kitsune had relaxed again, he followed them into the trees, immediately falling into the mindset of one of the forest's creatures, the tall expanses of wood providing shelter. Kiku's ears twitched, following every sound they could all at once. There was prey nearby, and a flock of small birds for a distance above them. It was much easier to be like this on four feet than two.

The light being jumped when he turned and Kiku wasn't there. "Wh-what?"

The thing that replaced their companion's position was a white fox, with three tails and black tips on each tail, his ears and the bottoms of his legs. A silvery color made up the fur of its "mask" and underbelly.

Lovino spun and saw nothing but a fox by them. "Damn it! Did he fucking run away?!"

The angel stared at him, still in shock. "N-No he just turned into the fox, ve~!"

The voices startled Kiku into looking up at them. He ducked his head into his shoulders and watched their faces, now much further away than they had been before. 'I'm sorry.' He murmured. 'I didn't notice.'

Feliciano looked down at him with a smile. "It's okay, It just surprised me, ve~!"

Lovino blinked. "What. The fuck." He was unaware kitsune could do that. As soon as he had thought that, the angel began talking to no one. "Who the fuck are you talking to?"

"I'm talking to Kiku, ve~" He answered, confused.

"He hasn't said anything."

"Yes he did, didn't you hear him?"

'I'm more surprised that you can hear me than that Lovino can't.' The fox admitted. 'It may be because you are an angel, but I really don't know.' He looked at the demon pointedly. 'I've been speaking this entire time.' He ended the sentence with a bark.

Lovino stepped back when the fox barked at him. "Is he fucking insulting me!?" He looked at Feli pointedly.

The angel shook his head quickly. "No, he's explaining it to me, ve~"

"O-oh..." That was embarrassing. "Well! If he does! You better tell me!" The demon said sternly, trying to save himself.

"I will, ve~" He replied with strange determination.

Lovino huffed and crossed his arms. "You better." He then looked down at the fox with trepidation.

Feliciano sighed. "We should keep looking, si?"

Kiku nodded and ran ahead a little ways. There weren't many paths available here, and he thought this form would be useful, so he didn't change back. The demon nodded as well and watched the fox run off.

"I'll look along here..." He started down another path that looked like it had been disturbed by something or someone. It could have been the thief, or just as easily a hiker. The angel kept an eye on the both of them, and eventually turned down a different path, even though the feeling of being alone bothered him. His way ended up at a dead end.

Lovino kicked away some leaves to follow the prints better, though they looked more like boots hikers would wear than whatever the thief had had on his feet that made his steps so quiet. The demon decided to follow them further in hopes something would come of it. Nothing did. He kicked the boot prints and huffed, lashing his tail in irritation.

Kiku snuffled along the ground and in the air around himself, but caught no scents that were out of place. The only light he could feel came from the angel. He crawled through several bushes and returned the way he had come.

Feliciano stopped in the middle of the path and sighed. He didn't like having nothing to go on, and they must have combed most of the woods, they had to, the light was growing dim through the branches overhead. A rustling in the bushes stopped him, and he waved as Kiku stepped into view. It seemed as though he hadn't found anything either. Lovino followed shortly after, with his hands in his hoodie pockets and a scowl across his face. He huffed. "There's no fucking way we'll be able to find it here..."

The angel tried not to seem disappointed as he greeted them and offered a suggestion.

"Well maybe if we stayed longer? Maybe we'll find the kitsune?"

"I've spent nights in the woods before. If we want to keep searching, I have no issue." Kiku said in support of the idea.

The angel turned to Lovino. "Should we stay the night?" He asked.

The demon looked at them with skepticism, but nodded eventually. "Sure...whatever..."

"Then we should start making a camp, ve~!" Feliciano chirped. His excitement bothered Lovino.

The light being began to look for anything that could be used for food, and his darker counterpart began to search for wood. The kitsune darted off for his own purposes. Lovino found this suspicious as he watched, arms full of twigs and loose branches.

He put rocks around the little pile of sticks and watched Feliciano as he snapped his fingers to set the gathered wood on fire. He wondered if it would bother the angel that they were essentially using hellfire for their camp.

The angel in question made note of this and considered blessing the fire at a later point in time. He climbed out of the tree he had been in, carrying fruit and some berries.

Lovino was intrigued by the assorted fruit and he reached for a raspberry, popping it into his mouth. His face immediately screwed up in disgust and he hissed.

"Uhg! Its sour!"

Feliciano blinked worriedly at him and offered him a blueberry instead.

"Try this one."

He took it cautiously and chewed slowly. "It's...better..."

"I thought it might be, ve~!" The angel replied before placing it in a basket he summoned.

Just as they were beginning to wonder where Kiku had gone off to, and had set the fruit basket aside, the fox returned with a rabbit in his mouth. He trotted up to them and placed the rabbit down to inspect the fruit. Most of the blackberries were already gone and Lovino had some juice stains around his mouth. Feliciano leaned over to wipe them off before looking back to Kiku.

"Welcome back~!" The angel greeted, hiding his frown as the meat was placed down by the fire.

The now clean demon looked between them, Feliciano and the kitsune who had regained his humanoid form, tails swishing in expectancy.

"Should we make a...cooking turning thing...for the rabbit?"

"Does anyone have a knife?"

Lovino was slightly taken aback by the kitsune's sudden request but he pulled out a small knife from his pants, holding it out with a glare. "Only for the rabbit."

Kiku looked at him incredulously. "Of course." He took the knife and the rabbit up into the lower branches of a tree to begin skinning and preparing it for cooking.

The demon watched closely before questioning Feliciano.

"Why did you do that?"

"Why did I do what, ve~?"

He pointed to his cheek. "Wipe the berry stuff off." He said, frustrated.

"Oh." He shrugged. "I just felt like I should. Why? Did you not want me too, ve~?" He asked with a tilt of the head.

Lovino looked away, frowning. "Well...no. Just- It was a nice thing...that doesn't happen often…"

"Well I like helping people, and you've been nice to me, ve~" He said looking up at the tree.

The other supernatural looked at him strangely. "But.. I'm a demon…" He said slowly, as if trying to comprehend this himself.

"You know, not all demons have to be mean, ve~"

"Well, we're supposed to be." He countered, before looking back out to the darkened trees. "Forget I even asked." He was a failure as a demon...

Kiku hopped down, holding the cleaned meat. "Is there somewhere I can put this?"

Lovino had never been camping before, so he ended up staring blankly. The angel bit his lip and looked around, not much help either.

"A stick?" The fox suggested.

"Ah, si." Feliciano gained more purpose to his search. "We should make something to hold the stick up too though, ve~"

One of the campfire's sparks flashed near the demon's head. He realized he had seen something like this before in a shop. "I'm only doing this because I'm hungry." He stated, pulling out some of the spare firewood and breaking off twigs to form a makeshift rotisserie.

"Grazie~!" The angel said happily, looking between the two of them with a bright smile.

Kiku went back up into the tree for a moment to fetch and bury the rabbit's less edible remains, and clean the knife. As Lovino set up the cooking spit the fox wiped the blade on a leaf and handed it back to the demon, who pocketed it with a nod. Kiku then settled down with two flames as usual. They seemed quite interested in the demonic campfire.

The flames also seemed to gain the attention of the other two beings. The campfire sparked at the light blue flames, and Lovino frowned. Why did he have to make a fire if they already had some, and why were they floating? The angel's reaction was less confrontational as he reached out to touch one in curiousity.

The kitsune watched them both simultaneously, as much as he could, and the constant glancing back and forth was making him skittery. He gulped and one of the flames sparked madly.

Feliciano smiled a little and started to pet the smaller bit of fire once he realized they weren't hot at all. "Are they yours?" He asked. Lovino seemed to want to know this as well. He kicked some dirt at the campfire to calm it.

Kiku sat up straighter and looked around their small camp quickly and back to the angel. He nodded carefully. The light being took notice and pulled his hand away from the flame.

"Are you okay?"

Lovino looked up but then simply returned to turning the meat, cooking it evenly over the fire. His tail waved back and forth calmly.

The kitsune's tails on the other hand, twitched nervously.

"I'm alright." He answered.

Feliciano stared at him, and nodded slowly. "Alright, if you're okay, ve~" He wondered briefly if he had done something wrong.

Kiku looked down at his lap as he was stared at. He kept one ear turned to the side to listen for any predators or the kitsune they were looking for or any other bad guys. The flame by the angel shrunk in size but continued to spark.

"Hey. If you both are done, the food's ready." Lovino said, cutting into the silence rather forcefully.

The angel blinked and fluffed his wings. "Grazie~" He said. Though he wasn't very fond of eating meat, he knew to he needed to keep up his strength. The auburn-haired one smiled and picked up some of the fruit he had gathered, making an almost meal out of their foraging.

Kiku perked up. The meat smelled nice. "How do we serve it?" Usually he was by himself

and didn't have to worry about things like this.

"Uhm… Just take a piece?" The demon suggested, pulling the spit off of it's holders. Maybe they didn't eat as unorganized up here as where he came from.

Feliciano blinked and shrugged. He took a bite of his fruit, wanting the others to eat first. Kiku looked at the angel and then at the Lovino and then at the meat. He held out his hand slowly. Lovino took a leg and passed the spit to Kiku. As the demon ate, it seemed as if his fangs were more prominent. Kiku picked up another stick from nearby and peeled off the bark. He burnt it with one of his now heated flames, tore off some of the rabbit and skewered it. The fox tried to eat neatly but it was difficult. It was very good to have warm food again.

Feliciano finished his fruit and smiled at them, wrapping his wings around himself for warmth. Kiku also finished his portion and couldn't eat more if he wanted to. He did want to. But it was dark and getting chilly, so, like the angel, he pulled his flames closer, using what heat he allowed them to supplement his own warmth. The demon simply put his hands closer to the hellfire. As the night darkened further, the only sounds between them came from the snapping and hissing of the campfire.

Eventually the angel and demon laid down to sleep, leaving the kitsune to watch the sky. Kiku sighed softly, and made a pile of leaves under himself to lay on. The three of them drifted and slept gently.

The kitsune, however, shifted as the night progressed. He was becoming irrationally discomforted, which made little sense as he had been fine with them around for most of the day. But he hadn't slept so close to another in many, many years. Kiku wasn't afraid of them, they had given him no reason to be. They still didn't as the angel slept with his wings wrapped around himself, and Lovino was motionless except for an occasional twitch of the tail. But Kiku wasn't a fool, he knew not to trust people right away.

The fire was close to dying out, and the kitsune's own flames were made as dim as they could be, but he still couldn't sleep. He stood, slowly, quietly, and made his way back into the forest to think. He slipped away, leaving new eyes to take his place and watch those who were sleeping and unaware.

**End Chapter 4  
**

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On behalf of the three of us, thank you for reading and keeping up this far.

**Notes: **The length of this chapter really contributed to how long it took to post. Fay had a lot of free time on their hands, and this would have taken even longer if not for that.

By the way,

**The Usual: **Please send us some feedback or reviews because I want to become a better writer, and the only people who can help me do that, is you the readers. Frankly we can't tell just by views if people even like this thing, or what we should add to it to make it better. As a bonus, seeing that Fay's hard work of writing has paid off makes them want to write more. I'm sure I can speak for Tobi and Ven too by saying we don't want to be strangers.

**Next chapter estimate:** Chapter 5, "Alter," is being edited and is nearly done. It will be posted in November, so I have some time to work on Chapters 6 and 7 as well. Things are going to get interesting. I promise.

* * *

Again, thanks for reading and we'll see you in Chapter 5! *blows kiss*

(0/w\0)

\\(0w0)/


	5. Chapter 5 - Alter

**Hello and Welcome** back. Wow look, actually early.

**(Dis)claimer:** I do not own Hetalia, Hidekaz Himaruya does and I thank him for it. Everything else in this chapter belongs to Fay, Ven, and Tobi.

We do not mean any disrespect by referencing things of spiritual value. If we did our research wrong, tell us.

**WARNINGS: **This chapter will contain Lovi's language-lots of it-, Fay's writing in a different way, re-introduction of an old character, and overall confusion, I hope.

Now, without further ado, _**THE STORY:**_

* * *

A Pen? Are You Kidding Me?

Chapter 5 - Alter

The forest was dark as the night's late hours spread over it. The demonic fire that had burned red earlier now lay in embers, glowing over the leaves a short distance from it, and showing two huddled figures resting.

The shadow slipped into a nearby tree and watched the two sleeping. He made note of a third place where another might have been, but they weren't there now, or may have never existed at all. For now, he waited for them to wake up, and was fortunate enough to not have to wait more than a few minutes as two night creatures began fighting. One sounded like an owl.

~~~~Line Break~~~~

Feliciano jumped awake as something screeched. He blinked, trying to clear his vision and let it adjust to the dark. He gently uncurled his wings from his person and stood up, calling forth a little light with his magic. The angel looked around for anything that could have made that sound. There was an empty place by the fire away from the side where he and Lovino had been. Kiku was missing and Feliciano frowned. He looked over at Lovino.

The demon groaned and covered his ears.

"Damn it! Shut the fuck up!" He growled, tail twitching in annoyance.

Lovino sat up and looked around then, summoning his own little bit of hellfire to rekindle the main source of light for the camp. He rubbed his arms against the chill and scowled, looking up at the angel and then to where Kiku should have been.

"Where the hell did he go?!"

Feliciano shrugged. "I don't know but I'm worried, ve~" He said, shivering and wrapping his wings around himself again. It was cold.

The darker creature huffed. "Whatever. I'm going back to sleep." He abruptly laid back down and turned away from Feliciano and his light.

The kitsune couldn't help it. He laughed again, like how he did when they had been in the warehouse. The whole situation was just like it had been two nights before.

The angel jumped, hearing a familiar laugh fill the darkness around them. He stepped closer to Lovino in fear.

"What are your names?" The voice asked, peering down at them. "Tell me, and I could tell you mine." The demon on the ground snarled and sat up.

"Go the fuck away. I'm fucking tired. Why would I care about your damn name?!" He looked up and there was Feliciano, suddenly closer to him, biting his lip in fear. The angel looked around, at Lovino and then back to the darkness.

The kitsune laughed again, full of mirth this time. "Remind me never to wake you up."

Feliciano blinked, looking up at the trees. "Where are you, ve~?" He finally asked in a wavering tone. Lovino just growled in the general direction the voice.

"Close." He dropped from the tree to the ground. "And closer."

The light presence finally could see the shadow, though he jumped when it suddenly moved.

"Ciao…" He said looking at him, he was surprised by how familiar the creature's silhouette was.

Lovino glared at him. "Why are you here?"

"I left the last time without something. I need it now."

He stepped forward and became more visible as he neared the light magic and the fire. His clothes were black, excluding a gray scarf. The kitsune's clothing also fit closer to his form than Kiku's, as they were made in a different style. His eyes were bright red and his three tails, brown. The ends of the tails and his ears, where Kiku had black and white respectively, were cream colored, but that was where the differences ended. Feliciano was startled as the creature stepped further forward.

"What do you need exactly, ve~?" He questioned. The angel was defensive, he really didn't trust this kitsune.

"I need to know who you are. It was very… impolite of me to leave without knowing my pursuer's names." He smirked lightly in compliance with the words. The light from the fire cast odd shadows across his face, making one side look like healing bruises.

The demon stood up begrudgingly. He looked the kitsune up and down, the similarities upsetting his half-conscious mind. He was going to have to 'talk' to Kiku later about this… If he remembered… Lovino was too damn tired for this.

"Fuck it. Lovino. Now go the fuck away." He wanted to get back to sleep.

The angel stared at Lovino in surprise, but assumed that he answered the shadowy kitsune on purpose.

"Feliciano, where's the Pen and who are you?"

"I was going to let you think about my name for a while longer but it's... it's Black." He laughed and held out his arms. "I thought it was obvious I don't have the Pen anymore. You could even search me."

It was also obvious this wasn't Kiku. If not by the changed clothes, and different eye color, than by the personality. Kiku wasn't as outgoing, but he was kinder.

"But even I don't come that cheap." The hostile kitsune added with a fanged smirk. If he didn't joke about these things then anyone who wanted could use them against him. He wasn't proud of it, but he did know how to protect himself. No one ever looked that far into who he was anyway, and he certainly didn't expect these two to.

"Really? That's a weird-ass name."

'Black's' standing posture relaxed to one side, a taunt in the way that it showed he saw them as no threat.

"I happen to like my name." He put in with a swish of his tails. It was a familiar swish.

Lovino frowned even more, if that was possible, and looked around with annoyance. "And where the fuck did he go, damn it!" He didn't care much about the Pen at the moment. He was tired, and someone he didn't trust was missing, and then there was this asshole trying to make small talk in the middle of the fucking night. Damn everything.

Feliciano looked between Black and Lovino with a frown. "I don't know… where is the Pen if you don't have it?"

"Your precious pen isn't with me. I'm not sure if you would learn a thing if I did reveal its placement." He paused. "Although… it is odd to see the two of you still together." The kitsune spoke deliberately and with a touch of intrigue. "I would have thought an angel and a demon would try to keep away from each other."

The angel crossed his arms and stared at Black, confused. "You don't really seem the type to just give something away for free, what's going on? Who has the Pen, ve~?" He pressed taking a small step forward.

The shadow's caution sparked when the angel stepped towards him. His ears turned to Feliciano, and the words were taken more carefully. "Correct, I'm not the type, which is why you two are still searching."

"Why'd you take it in the first place?!" Lovino snapped.

"Why?" He rolled his eyes. "I think a "Where?" makes more sense, but...you already asked." He did a quick head tilt and eyed the sky for a moment. "I'm late. It's time I left you to your thoughts…"

Something felt off about this situation, and Feliciano looked at Black curiously, he wanted to at least know a bit more about this person...though he doubted the kitsune would let that happen. When he started to leave the angel took the opportunity and reached out, grabbing a hold of the other's arm, not tightly enough to hurt him but to take a good look at him.

"Wait!" He yelped. He didn't want the only person who knew where the Pen was to leave. "Why are you doing this?! At least explain that, please!"

The kitsune jumped visibly when the angel was suddenly close enough to hold him. The brief expression of fear was also a close match to Kiku's when he was discovered and cornered in the alley. However, Black's widened eyes were crimson, and his shock morphed into a growl quickly.

Lovino snarled in retaliation. "You're plotting with Kiku aren't you? That's why he's fucking gone! Answer the angel!"

"Let go!" The kitsune suddenly snapped, wrenching his arm back. He retreated several light steps and took in the demon's words with additional shock before he recomposed himself.

"An individual incubus still serves the same Devil as any other demon, regardless of independency." He muttered, almost ashamed of the words, and ran off again.

Feliciano folded his arm back towards himself slowly. He stepped back with a shake of the head.

"It's not the same Devil though…" He sighed, these riddles were becoming a bother and he watched the dark creature run back into the shadows sadly before turning to Lovino again.

The demon looked every bit as confused as Feliciano. But he didn't dwell on it. He ran a hand through his brown hair and huffed. It was too late for this.

"I'm just going back to sleep…" Lovino unceremoniously laid down by the fire again.

Feliciano nodded and followed suit. He wrapped his wings around himself and curled up, still nervous and worried. He hoped Kiku was okay. Eventually he fell asleep.

~~~~Line Break~~~~

The forest was dark as the night's early hours crept over it. The demonic fire had begun to die down, illuminating the camp lightly, and the solitary figure who was returning.

The kitsune curled up in his place, now long cold, and tried to sleep through the shame. He whined softly and curled into the smallest space he could, as it felt like some evil being was watching him.

The nearby demon feigned sleep as their companion came back, but cracked an eye open as they laid down. He grit his teeth and tried to keep still, but his tail twitched terribly.

**End Chapter 5**

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On behalf of the three of us, thank you for reading and keeping up this far.

**Notes: **Apologies for the weird style of the chapter, I thought it was cool at the moment. But, yeah, I still like it. I hope this is getting confusing. The next chapter will clear some things up, and make Chapter 2 seem even stranger.

By the way,

**The Usual: **Rate and review please, the three of us want to hear what you have to say, so we can make the story better for you. It's a lot of hard work and our only pay is your opinions, and whatever jokes we can make between each other. Seriously, tell us anything about the story, what you liked, what you hated, something funny, how bad we've screwed up the characters, anything.

**Next chapter estimate:** December's Chapter 6 is being edited, and I'm excited for all of this, this is just the beginning, my minions. I may post early, if I get enough done on the working chapters we have. Story statuses are in my Bio, as usual.

* * *

Again, thanks for reading and we'll see you in Chapter 5! *blows kiss*

(0/w\0)

\\(0w0)/


	6. Chapter 6 - Stories

**Hello and Welcome** back. This is Chapter 6. It's kind of short, but I like it.

**(Dis)claimer:** I do not own Hetalia, Hidekaz Himaruya does and I thank him for it. Everything else in this chapter belongs to Fay, Ven, and Tobi.

We do not mean any disrespect by referencing things of spiritual value. If we did our research wrong, tell us.

**WARNINGS: **This chapter will contain Lovi's emotions, Fay's writing, and I don't even know what to call it, just know that things will be picking up.

Now, without further ado, _**THE STORY:**_

* * *

A Pen? Are You Kidding Me?

Chapter 6 - Stories

Feliciano blinked and opened his eyes to a dim cover of leaves under a cloudy sky. He smiled and sat up with a yawn, looking for his companions. Lovino seemed to be asleep, as he groaned and turned over, covering his face and flicking his tail in annoyance. Kiku was already awake.

"Ciao~" He said to the fox, the vocalization gaining more of Lovino's attention.

The events of the previous night came back to the demon and he jumped up, teeth bared and immediately on guard. He pointed an accusing finger and stepped closer to the kitsune who was sitting by the fire speaking to Feliciano. Both of them jumped when he yelled.

"You little bastard! Your buddy came by last night! Know anything about it?"

"B-buddy?" He repeated dumbly, not understanding the question. "I don't know what you're talking about.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

The angel answered him, but kept his shocked face turned towards Lovino for a moment more. "It was a kitsune who looked a lot like you, ve~"

"Another-?" Kiku was being accused again. "I don't honestly I don't know anything." He looked around as if for help. The kitsune's ears had folded back in that same expression of fear his counterpart had shown only hours before. Feliciano stood and moved between the still growling Lovino and the obviously troubled Kiku.

"He looked a lot like you only darker. Do you have any idea who it could be?" He asked in a gentle tone. Lovino glared at Feliciano but stood back. He wasn't about to fight the angel. Instead he focused on staring Kiku down to make sure the fox would answer truthfully.

"Like me?" Kiku repeated. "And different… How?" He thought hard, but there was a wall, a familiar and painful wall.

"He looked really similar to you, different clothes and fur, but still similar, and he was much more sarcastic, toying, ve~"

Lovino scowled, keeping his glare fixed on the kitsune, watching his reactions. "A complete bastard… but he wanted our names for whatever reason."

Kiku fell to the ground, legs folded awkwardly underneath him. "I can't- I can't think of anyone who would do that..." He said quietly, shell-shocked. The kitsune barely registered the demon was speaking also. Feliciano knelt and held out a hand to steady him, and Lovino stepped back, starting to believe he was wrong with his accusations.

"Okay then, just relax, we won't hurt you, ve~"

"He wouldn't do that..." Kiku breathed. The other two blinked in surprise.

"Who?"

"Kiku?"

The kitsune smiled sadly. The shock of the situation forcing a thin laugh from him, as he kept his eyes on the leaves in front of him.

"My brother."

Feliciano stopped and paused a moment before nodding. "Don't worry, we could be wrong, are you alright though?" he asked, quickly looking at Lovino for support. The demon swallowed thickly. He wanted to shout 'I knew it!' but that felt wrong, even for him.

Kiku shook his head. "I want to be wrong…" He paused. "Brown tail, light ears, everything else almost the same?" The angel nodded slowly.

"So you're... **not** planning with Black..?" Lovino asked, becoming even more unnerved by the mysteriosity of the thief. Feliciano's thoughts were similar, but more worry for the creature.

"Black?"

"That's what the other kitsune called himself, ve~"

"I doubt it's his real name." The brunette added and grimaced. "Even after I told him mine...so damn stupid."

"He wasn't lying. From what I remember my brother enjoys answering questions like that." Kiku felt he was finally able to stand again, so he did. "Black **is **his name. Simply put in the wrong way." The corners of his mouth quirked upward in a slight smile. "He is Kuro." Moments later the other words sunk in. "Your names?" He looked between the two beings. "Both of yours?"

"Si." Feliciano supplied with a thoughtful sigh, "He wanted our names, though I can't imagine why that would be important, ve~"

The demon looked at them with a suspicious expression. "What's so important about a name… besides being a fucking name..?"

"You don- I forget, the culture difference." Kiku's tails flicked absently and his ears dropped. "No… This has just gotten worse than you believe… Names where I come from hold significance. Knowing a demon's can allow for a range of control over it, for example. I don't know many forms of magic, but I do know that the kind that involves a name is binding, and strong."

"But what would he want with our names in particular, ve~?" He asked trying to calm himself despite feeling distinctly **not **calm. His wings were puffing out and fluffing up, and his natural instinct to fly was coming out. The angel waited for anything else Kiku could say with trepidation.

Lovino gaped at the kitsune. "U-uh.. well… I would fucking know about something like that if it affected me! Cultural difference and shit!" His tail barely moved in shock. The worried face Feliciano made didn't help much either.

Kiku shook his head. "I don't know… I don't know what he would want with any of this, or what's happening at all." This was his **family**, his **brother**, Kiku **knew** him. This was wrong, this was all wrong. No one could change so much. Certainly not the kitsune he had grown up with, who had helped him so much when they were kits.

Though they all hated the new information that Kiku had given them, Feliciano managed to break from his petrification and go to comfort his friend with a hand on his shoulder. "We'll figure it out eventually, we just need to figure this all out before anything happens. We need to figure out what he wanted with the Pen and our names, ve~"

"Right…" Kiku answered simply. "It is… quite a bit to take in." That was an understatement, but at least it made him feel better. The fox took a deep breath before he spoke again. "Yes, information now is top priority."

He also needed to know more. It had been his theory that the thief had his skull, and now that that was no longer true he could potentially leave them to find their Pen, but personally, it was now impossible. Not only was this important to the two he had decided to help, but he now felt partially responsible for their situation by association with the guilty party. The reasons for that guilt, however unclear, were now his motive.

"S-si." Lovino coughed into his hand trying not to show how shaken he was knowing he just gave some guy the ability to control him without even knowing. "Si." He said, stronger this time.

"If we know we're in the wrong place, then where do we go? I don't have any clues. Kuro... hasn't been heard from in a long time, only a short while longer than I have."

"Well we search the general area, outside of the forest that is, if he's not here there's no use staying, si~?" Feliciano said, getting up and gathering his coat to go back through the woods to wherever the next lead was.

**-End Chapter 6-**

* * *

On behalf of the three of us, thank you for reading and keeping up this far.

**Notes: **I wonder what will happen if we give Chapter 2 another look through? Just saying.

By the way,

**The Usual: **Rate and review please, the three of us want to hear what you have to say, so we can make the story better for you. It's a lot of hard work and our only pay is your opinions, and whatever jokes we can make amongst ourselves. Seriously, tell us anything about the story, what you liked, what you hated, something funny, how bad we've screwed up the characters, anything.

**Next chapter estimate:** Chapter 7 is being edited, and to re-iterate, we're picking things up with the pacing. If this chapter was a let down cliffhanger-wise, it's because there are bombshells coming up. Chapter 7, "Le bad guy" may be up by New Years, or Christmas, as a present, I don't know. Story statuses are in my Bio, as usual.

* * *

Again, thanks for reading and we'll see you in Chapter 7! *blows kiss*

(0/w\0)

\\(0w0)/


	7. Chapter 7 - Le Bad Guy

**Hello and Welcome** back. Chapter 7... woo...

**(Dis)claimer:** I do not own Hetalia, Hidekaz Himaruya does and I thank him for it. Everything else in this chapter belongs to Fay, Ven, and Tobi.

We do not mean any disrespect by referencing things of spiritual value. If we did our research wrong, tell us.

**WARNINGS: **This chapter will contain details, some plot, Fay's writing, and another cliffhanger.

Now, without further ado, _**THE STORY:**_

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A Pen? Are You Kidding Me?

Chapter 7 - Le Bad Guy

It took little more than a week for another sign of the Pen of Life to tempt the three supernaturals. It wasn't going to do much for them to simply wait in the forest for a sign, as comfortable as it made Kiku, and going back to the city would be counterproductive also. While the buildings held many places to hide, Kiku had been there too long and it was doubtful anything they were looking for would turn up in such a populated area. They took less traveled paths between the surrounding towns and had to stay out of sight much of the time as Kiku had no working disguise for himself. Seeking refuge in the few supernatural communities they came across was not a viable option either, because of their varied species.

Searching the towns also began to take less time due to the light aura the Pen produced, something Lovino and Feliciano could sense. With the Pen's current bearer being part of Kiku's dimension, he was able to track them as well. The places that held neither of these presences were ones the group could pass over. The process of searching and hiding was time consuming.

Lovino groaned.

"This damn pen is becoming more fucking trouble than it's worth."

Feliciano looked up at him and frowned. He was unwilling to voice similar thoughts, which combined with Lovino's recent restlessness could cause the demon to leave. He was a friend now, no matter what anyone thought, and he didn't want Lovino to leave it up to Kiku and him to find the Pen.

Luckily the demon caught the look and rolled his eyes in response. "No fucking way some pen is going to discourage me… Besides I have nothing better to do." Feliciano smiled and glanced back at Kiku momentarily. The kitsune had been finding it much more difficult to be cheerful recently, but he was still with them. Lovino noticed the kitsune slowing down and sighed.

"We can't keep going like this. It's not like we're suddenly going to be able to sense it!" He kicked the dirt and scowled.

The world seemed to love irony, or at least hate Lovino, as the angel among them suddenly jumped and looked between them frantically.

"Do you feel that?!" The light energy was strong, and familiar.

The brunette wanted to claw his eyes out. "Yes… faintly…"

"We have to go get it, ve~!"

"Just… right now..? Isn't it with some evil bastard?" The brunette looked between them for agreement.

Kiku watched them carefully. "What is it?"

"We sense the Pen." Feliciano looked at Lovino again, considering his words with a bitten lip.

"It just fucking reappeared…"

Kiku paused. "I think it's a bad idea, but we don't seem to have another choice."

"What do you think, Lovino?"

"Uh… well… It would be dumb to just go off on a damn whim, but we have no other leads so… I guess we should follow it.."

Feliciano nodded and smiled at him, before searching for Kiku's opinion. The kitsune looked down under the angel's gaze. "We'll go then?"

~~~~~Line Break~~~~~

Lovino grumbled about stupid pens and bad feelings. He looked at Feli with a somber expression, but covered it with annoyance. "What the fuck are we going to do we do when we find it?"

"I'm not sure, but when we find it we have to look for Kiku's bird skull afterwards, ve~" He answered hastily.

"Oh."

"You don't have to help me." Kiku put in. "I could go my own way if I'm going to be a hinderance." He remembered joining them on the chance that their thief was the one who had his skull but if the thief was his brother… Kiku stopped himself.

"We should help you anyway, ve~" The angel assured as they walked towards the source of the Pen's light.

They were moving to a more run-down part of the city. The buildings were boarded over and the streets dirty. Kiku had been here once before, but hadn't stayed long. Now he followed the other two warily. He couldn't sense the item in question, but had a feeling they were heading towards something of immense power.

"Where does it seem to be coming from ve?" Feliciano asked his darker counterpart. Lovino looked around and between the tall buildings.

"I… I can't tell. Maybe that way some more." He gestured ahead of them and huffed. "There's something else here and it's fucking me up. I knew this was a bad idea."

"Something else?" Kiku asked from behind him.

"Yes, something else. I don't fucking know what but it's there." He growled. The combined feelings were making the hair rise on the back of his neck and his tail twitch in its hiding place. He was simultaneously angered and terrified.

"It must be the one who stole it, ve~"

Kiku stopped walking. "I can feel it too. It's familiar, like something from my realm. The heaven or hell that I know." Not his brother then, Kuro was someone he could recognize anywhere. The clash of relief and disappointment was painful. The angel followed this news with confusion.

"Why would someone from your realm want the Pen of Life in the first place, ve~?"

"I don't know…" The kitsune searched for any reason why they would even know about this pen. All that he knew of other spiritual realms were things he had learned from humans in passing, and never anything this specific.

"This is strange…" Feliciano said softly.

The demon among them stopped also. Evil was evil, no matter what realm it was from, so he assumed that's why he could sense them. But that meant…

"Oh shit… They know we're here."

"What do we do now? Do we just leave?" The angel worried, looking around.

"Didn't we already know this was a trap?"

"Yes, but a demon can fucking dream we just sneak in for once."

"Should we keep going?" Kiku asked, summing up their predicament nicely.

Lovino calmed down a little. "Yeah. Let's go."

They followed the energy signatures of both the Pen and it's current holder to the only building it could come from, something large enough to house the combined powers.

"Another warehouse?" The kitsune commented.

"Figures, damned criminals have no class."

They moved towards the large building slowly, feet dragging with trepidation. Lovino stopped at the door and Kiku held his arms at his sides, waiting for someone else to open it. Feliciano opened the door and peeked in slowly, the demon right behind him.

"I can't see anything."

"Does anyone have any light?"

Kiku held out a bright flame to Feliciano. He took it and walked inside. This area was cleaner and more open than the last, with only a few boxes pushed to the corners. The only occupants of the space were the three supernaturals and one other standing in the open looking at the ground in front of themselves.

The person turned to look at them. "Hello." He greeted cordially, tone matching the business-like clothing he had on. Kiku gasped and tried to make himself smaller on instinct. The scents in this place and the feeling of it gave him a feeling of foreboding. The air crackled like the storm weeks prior, and the scrap of fabric in his pocket smelled similar.

Feliciano stared at them, frowning, and moved in front of the kitsune and demon protectively.

Lovino's eyebrow twitched. This guy was a grade-A asshole, he could tell, and the temptation to be rash was too strong to resist.

"Who the fuck are you?" His voice started off strong, but wavered and trailed off towards the end of the sentence.

The apparent villain laughed once and even that sounded forced. "I am not someone you have heard of." He answered. "You must be the demon, Lovino? Hiding behind an angel, that's not normal for your kind is it, though I could expect it from-" He looked between them,stopping to stare at Kiku. "No, you aren't my missing canid. What could you be doing with these two? Sustaining yourself by them?" The person guessed mockingly. "My niece never knew how to pick the right creatures to associate with, nor did the sister who spawned her."

Kiku growled.

"You haven't introduced yourself though." The angel said with an irritated frown.

"Susanoo, the sea and the storm. Brother of Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, the sun and moon."

Lovino's face clearly said he had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

"Why do you have the Pen?" Feliciano asked, shifting nervously.

"Reconciliation."

"How would you even use a fucking pen to do that?"

"The same way I have before." Another glance was cast to the floor before him and with a flourish of the Pen, new marks were added to the design. Not marks, characters. Feliciano watched with fear. He had no idea what would happen if the Pen was used to write outside of the Book, but he couldn't force himself to move. Kiku and Lovino were both growing upset by their own identical situations, though Lovino found it in him to speak first.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"I'm doing a few things." He answered amiably. "I'm experimenting, and setting an example." He looked up at them. "Are you going to say anything… Feliciano? Or, no doubt your resident kitsune is Kiku, who I've heard so much about."

Kiku snarled.

The god chuckled. "Your doppelganger made the same face."

Feliciano glared at him. "Give back the Pen, it's not yours. You'll hurt yourself, or someone else. I don't want to fight you but you have to stop."

Susanoo was humored by the words of such an optimist, but ignored him in favor of continuing to anger the fox. "Did you ever wonder, little flower, why your brother would come to me, and steal for me?" When Kiku said nothing he continued.

"Your Kuro is a long way from celestial, even further than your own outcast self -yes I can see that, don't look so surprised- We're alike there. But either way there were… misconceptions." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a sun-bleached and picked clean hawk's skull. Kiku immediately stopped growling -Lovino had picked up for him- and gasped at the sight of his missing item.

Feliciano stared in shock which quickly turned to anger. He wasn't at the point where he lost control of his power, but he was still furious at this god who was in one way or another hurting everything and everyone he cared about.

The bone returned to Susanoo's vest pocket. Several more marks were made to the design at his feet.

"Give that back to Kiku." The angel said, not as a request, but a cold demand. His wings flared menacingly and Lovino nodded, though at the same time he took a step away from Feliciano.

"If he comes to get it." The deity answered in a similar voice. With that the last mark of a symbol was finished, spacing the entire design out evenly, and beginning the spell it was meant to cause.

A mingling of screams was heard as Susanoo walked away.

**-End Chapter 7-**

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On behalf of the three of us, thank you for reading and keeping up this far.

**Notes:** Sooo... this was a chapter. It happened. More stuff is going to happen in the next.

By the way,

**The Usual: **Rate and review please, the three of us want to hear what you have to say, so we can make the story better for you. It's a lot of hard work and our only pay is your opinions, and whatever jokes we can make amongst ourselves. Seriously, tell us anything about the story, what you liked, what you hated, something funny, how bad we've screwed up the characters, anything.

**Next chapter estimate:** Chapter 8 is being edited. I don't know what else I have to say, except that it's called "Bound." Make of that what you will.

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Again, thanks for reading and we'll see you in Chapter 8! *blows kiss*

(0/w\0)

\\(0w0)/


	8. Chapter 8 - Bound

**Hello and Welcome** back. Chapter 8! This chapter is the reason why I use bold for emphasized words.

**(Dis)claimer:** I do not own Hetalia, Hidekaz Himaruya does. Everything else in this chapter belongs to Fay, Ven, and Tobi.

We do not mean any disrespect by referencing things of spiritual value. If we did our research wrong, tell us.

**WARNINGS: **This chapter will contain confusion, italics, Fay's writing, and some resolution.

Now, without further ado, _**THE STORY:**_

* * *

A Pen? Are You Kidding Me?

Chapter 8 - Bound

The final mark was placed into the figure and everything stopped.

Kiku made a face as if something lodged in his throat was choking him, though he made no sound. The kitsune dropped to his knees and fell to his side, curled into himself with his hands clutching his head. It hurt. It hurt. IT HURT. **IT HURT**. In his mind the space he occupied became smaller as the walls of his consciousness were broken harshly and forced far beyond his usual headspace.

Kiku was scared, and that terror lit up what seemed to be a third of this new space in a bright yellow-green, lanced with white. The color faded towards the far reaches of Kiku's space and where his consciousness was located was where the color was most intense.

Dimly he could recognize others sharing this pain and this terror, because their experience echoed to him from other places. But he did not acknowledge them. He was too busy trying to make himself small, physically and mentally so he could feel normal, solitary amongst his own thought.

The freakish space widened further, and thin lines began to divide it into notable thirds, setting borders between the other presences. The lines then blurred into nothingness until it was all a shared space seeming to stretch on into infinity. The kitsune stayed in his own place even when the searing pain dulled into a migraine-like throb.

Kiku finally peeled his eyes open and noted that while the banished god had been there to watch his agony, he had disappeared soon afterward. With his skull and the Pen. _The kitsune's green state had faded and been replaced with a swirling, upset red-orange mixed with the contrasting blue-black of worry, and a light gray hint of confusion._

"What… the fuck… did the bastard… do?" Said a voice from nearby, probably Lovino.

"I-It hurts, h-he used the Pen, I-I'm not sure for what b-but we have to leave." Feliciano was trying to stand up again. "M-Maybe if I heal you two some of the pain will go away, v-ve~?"

_Any verbal responses to the situation within Kiku's head were repetitions of, "What's happening? I'm afraid, I don't know what to do, who's there, why is this happening, it hurts…" In a voice dissimilar to his own._

Kiku finally found it in himself to sit up. "D-Don't strain yourself."

_Another voice chimed in from a different section of the space Kiku found himself in. "I-It does hurt, I-I don't know what's happening I don't know what to do, or how to do anything to help I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." There was a place full of images of words, and they swirled with what had been spoken._

"You're just as fucked up, don't waste your energy." The demon snapped irritably.

_The third presence looked towards the second, or rather directed their voice to them. "Calm the fuck down. This isn't your fault so you shouldn't be apologizing. Damn." The lines around this one flowed smoothly. The words around the second being seemed to clear up from this._

Feliciano sighed, but nodded. 'O-Okay, ve~"

Lovino was suddenly light-headed and he swayed, struggling to stay upright. "W-What the fuck..?" Then a wave of pain hit him and he fell to one knee. He made a strangled noise and fell onto his back, clawing at his head, tail whipping about erratically.

It felt like someone was tearing his mind open and forcing him to give up precious space. His individual thoughts as lines that usually swirled freely curled tightly around him away from the foreign spaces and moved just as terribly as his tail.

It took time, but the pain subsided enough for him to move. Lovino was breathing heavily, but he managed to flip himself and get up onto his hands and knees, where he stayed, shaking. He glared with everything he had at the retreating god. He growled and tried to get up, but fell to his side again, clutching his head.

_In the new mind space he stayed huddled in his own place, the lines spinning rapidly around him with confusion and pain. He tried to stay away from the other beings. The lines had stopped spinning but they jumped erratically as he looked at the others._

"What... the fuck… did the bastard.. do..?" He asked, gasping.

"I-It hurts, h-he used the pen, I-I'm not sure for what b-but we have to leave." The angel nearby answered, picking himself up also. "M-Maybe if I heal you two some of the pain will go away v-ve~?"

_There was a voice coming from nearby. It sounded terrified, and the place below it was lit up in bright, pulsating colors. "What's happening? I'm afraid, I don't know what to do, who's there, why is this happening, it hurts…"_

"D-Don't strain yourself." Kiku said, and when Lovino looked, he was getting up off the ground as well.

_Another whimpered before responding. "I-It does hurt, I-I don't know what's happening I don't know what to do, or how to do anything to help I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry."_

"You're just as fucked up, don't waste your energy." Lovino snapped, moving away from the angel.

_He stopped and looked between the other two presences. It was still safest for him to huddle away from them, though he directed his thought to the one surrounded by words. "Calm the fuck down. this isn't your fault so you shouldn't be apologizing. Damn." The lines flowed around him smoothly, betraying his nicer intentions._

"O-okay, ve~" Feliciano answered.

The angel let out a loud yelp as he dropped, body tense and pained. Everything hurt, especially his head. He couldn't even fight it as his thoughts turned to buzzing words that surrounded the new form his mind had taken. It was stretched too far. He felt tears well up in his eyes and wondered exactly what the god had done to him. Feliciano noticed through the pain that the others were hurting too. He wanted to do something but the pain was too intense for him at the moment.

He whimpered as the force of the words died down into something more manageable, pain still coursed through him as he stayed in his part of the new space. The angel blinked deliriously, trying to focus on the other two on the ground by him. he turned his head towards the god who caused all of this. "G-Give back the Pen." He murmured, closing his eyes again.

The deity disappeared and Feliciano curled back in on himself, trying to will the hurt out of him, trying to make the buzzing go away. _Words in clear, bold print read simple thoughts and scribbles held less thought than emotion._ He slowly made his way to a sitting position.

"What… the fuck… did the bastard… do?"

"I-It hurts, h-he used the pen, I-I'm not sure for what b-but we have to leave." Feliciano answered, trying to stand and move to his friends. "M-Maybe if I heal you two some of the pain will go away, v-ve~?"

_A voice echoed through from another place in his mind. "What's happening? I'm afraid, I don't know what to do, who's there, why is this happening, it hurts…"_

"D-Don't strain yourself." The angel turned to Kiku, who was sitting now. At least they were both able to get up.

"_I-It does hurt, I-I don't know what's happening I don't know what to do, or how to do anything to help I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." The words that swirled around him buzzed and got thicker like a dark veil, repeating his speech._

"You're just as fucked up, don't waste your energy." The demon replied irritably, and his usual input made the situation feel easier to handle.

He gave a soft sigh and nodded. "O-Okay ve~"

_Feliciano heard the other and the buzzing died down a bit and the words lessened. They still floated around but at least seemed less harmful, a blessing on Feliciano's mental being._

Kiku's eyes closed again as he drew his focus into this mental-scape, a shadow-like form following his own perception of himself appearing there as well. "_These are…" he said, unable to finish the sentence, but the colors below him changed to match how he viewed the two; reds, orange and a mix of rose and white for the angel, as well as deep forest green, murky blues and a metallic ashy gold for Lovino._

_Lovino noted the colors and words. They seemed to be calming down… though it was unnerving how he could recognise the meaning in the color sets. The lines responded with hesitating curves. "Uh… Yes I am…. You're Kiku?"_

_Feliciano was intrigued by the colors and lines and how they moved, his own words subsiding a he watched. He was shocked to hear the other use Kiku's name._

He looked between the two tiredly and wondered what came next. Lovino seemed irked and Kiku wasn't moving.

_The kitsune's self picture nodded as Kiku felt the urge to but bodily did not. "Lovino-demon-good?" He found himself asking, the color beneath him switching to red-pink in embarrassment. "Sorry, thoughts uncontrolled, names not just names. Descript- with descript- They have descriptions too." He 'looked' at the other space. "Feli-bright?"_

The demon coughed to get their attention. "Kiku. Feliciano. Snap the fuck out of it."

Feliciano blinked suddenly, glancing at Lovino and then Kiku. "What do we do now?" He asked. the three of them had been connected somehow, and he didn't know what to do.

Kiku's face had colored a bit with his embarrassment, and he blinked to get his bearings. "We need to go someplace safe for now." He stated, trying to get rid of the last tremors shaking him.

"We can help each other, maybe there's a hotel or something where we can stay, ve~"

Kiku looked up, _and his colors faded to a dim, forlorn blue-grey._ "How would I get in?" He was still dressed the strangest out of the three of them, and he still didn't have his skull.

Feliciano looked at him thoughtfully "We could get you a hoodie or a coat." He said looking at him "Would that be alright, ve~?"

Lovino frowned and considered this. _It showed on the lines as they swirled and formed pictures of clothes shifting to build the warehouse boxes._ He sighed. "Maybe there's a coat in one of these boxes." The demon stumbled forward, using his wings to steady himself.

_The angel's words were smudged and blurry _as he focused on looking through the boxes to the side of the space_. Words like Coat, Kitsune and Friend, stood out but the rest were harder to read._

"Maybe." His clothes could at least pass off as… odd with a coat. _He tried not to watch the others but it was interesting in this new space, and curiosity formed a yellow-gold shine on his contemplation, a rich purple._

Lovino shuffled through a box full of clothing donations. Jackpot. _The lines made little fireworks at the discovery. _"Hey! I found some stuff!"

_Hope was a pale and warm yellow to complement the growing curiosity and smidgen of worry. _"Where?" Kiku's ears perked up and his tails swished gently.

The demon was throwing useless clothes out of the bin but had found a large, multicolored windbreaker, probably from the 90's. There was also a beanie. He held them up for the others to see. "Would this work?" Feliciano smiled and stumbled over, _his words curling in a pleased way._

Kiku was visibly and mentally confused. He hadn't seen anything like that before, but… "It will do." At least they would cover his ears and tails.

"Should we go now?" Feliciano asked as Lovino handed the jacket to their companion. It was big enough to fit over his regular outfit, and the fur of his tails, while retaining a mostly normal appearance. The hat had folds in the wrong places but covered his ears well. the only challenge now was to not move them. _The lines moved a little quicker in anxiety as Lovino subtly thought Kiku wouldn't like it, but when he accepted them with a calm sky-blue, the lines moved at their normal speed again. _

"Let's get the fuck out of here."

They stumbled to the door awkwardly, too tired to practice walking enough to pace normally. _Feliciano spun words that were slumped and tired. Kiku tried to help, graduating to a soothing aquatic green._

Lovino frowned and moved down the street, looking for a place to rest, and spotting a motel quickly. "Come on." He said roughly, pulling them past the neon 'Open' sign. The clerk at the check in desk jumped when Lovino stormed over and snapped at her.

"We need a room with three beds." The demon's eyes flashed red for a moment and the poor woman began shaking.

"U-um! We only have t-two beds and a-a couch in the biggest r-rooms!" She passed him a key in exchange for the money he forced onto the counter.

As they were pulled again from standing still, the two light beings sent apologetic looks to the clerk. They were hardly able to express even that _as Feliciano's words faded away, the remainder moving sluggishly from his fatigue. Kiku was also sinking into himself, the green shifting into a pleased and worry-free blue, deep and rich in color. It was both a welcome for Kiku to relax into the deeper parts of his consciousness and a readiness to do so._

Lovino opened the room and sighed. He stumbled in and fell onto the couch face first.

"I gut th' coosh." He said through the cushion.

"Are you sure you don't...want a bed, ve~?" Feliciano asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Staying awake was getting even harder, if that was possible. The demon waved a hand dismissively.

"'M fin. D'y not seh me n' the damn couch?" He rolled over and tossed off his shoes, too tired to change further. He hugged the throw pillow and _the lines swirled, making a little bed with a halo over it before unraveling. A 'thank you' was clear among the angel's fading words _as he flopped on a bed.

Kiku shed the jacket and left it over a chair, toed off his shoes, and lay down on the other bed, curling up naturally and drifting off to that secure place of mind where he could sleep at any time. _A much more stable figure to match how Kiku saw himself appeared in his blue resting place of mind, an almost perfect image of himself in various shades of shadow, as all the color glowed from below him. He was relaxed completely in his space as he slept, and the blue became more indigo as he passed into dreaming. Little flashes of other color betrayed his emotive restlessness of unconsciousness._

Lovino opened his eyes and sat up looking over at the two on the beds. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. _What had he gotten them into...? The lines spun and moved worriedly._ He finally shook his head and laid back down promptly falling asleep.

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On behalf of the three of us, thank you for reading and keeping up this far.

**Notes:** This actually was one of the things we planned on doing when we first started plotting out the rp. So if it seemed out of the blue, I apologize, I tried to make that not happen. Any comments about that would be as appreciate as all the people who favorited and followed this story. You guys are all fantastic.

By the way,

**The Usual: **Rate and review please, the three of us want to hear what you have to say, so we can make the story better for you. It's a lot of hard work and our only pay is your opinions, and whatever jokes we can make amongst ourselves. Seriously, tell us anything about the story, what you liked, what you hated, something funny, how bad we've screwed up the characters, anything.

**Next chapter estimate:**Chapter 9 will take longer than usual to upload because real life is getting hectic, and I still have to finish taking it from our rp format to a read-able format. Late March at the earliest? I'll keep my bio updated with my progress.

* * *

Again, thanks for reading and we'll see you in Chapter 9! *blows kiss*

(0/w\0)

\\(0w0)/


	9. Chapter 9

Fay here. Please read this, as this is **NOT** a discontinued story.

First off, I'm really really sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen.

I'm in a bit of a rough place, which is why there hasn't been a new chapter in so long. I'm feeling better now though so I'll be back to working on it. At the same time I have a bunch of other projects going on and really crappy organizational skills to go with them, so I have to work on those as well. My life is still getting in the way, what with college and job hunting this summer and who knows what come fall.

HOWEVER! My group's rping of APAYKM will be coming back soon, so I will have much more inspiration to work on it while we move further with the story.

This is my plan as of 7-27-2015:

I am going to continue keeping track of the messages that make up the base of this story.

I am going to continue translating them from individual messages to a coherent story.

I am also going back to the posted chapters and revamping them, as there were way too many errors for my liking.

I can't promise that I'll be going back to a chapter a month, but I can say that even if I'm not updating, I am working on the story. Those of you that followed or favorited are what's keeping me going on this, or else I might have given up a while ago.

Again, I'm really sorry for this hiatus, but until the real Chapter 9 is posted, please be patient.


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